THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 


COMMODORE  BYRON  MCCANDLESS 


Y1 

GREAT  AND   GENERAL 
COURTE 


IN 


COLLONIE   TIMES. 


(JAMES  R.  NEWHALL.) 


PUBLISHED  BY 

ISRAEL  AUGUSTUS  NEWHALL  and  HOWARD  MUDGE  NEWHALL. 


1897. 

THE  NICHOLS   PRESS  — THOS.  P.  NICHOLS. 
LYNN,  MASS. 


Copyright,  7*96,  by 

ISRAEL  AUGUSTUS  NEWHALL  AND  HOWARD  MUDGE  NEWHALL, 
LYNN,  MASS. 


PRINTRD  BY  THOS  P.  NICHOLS. 
I.VNN,  MAM. 


F 
1/7 


PREFACE. 


THE  Author  of  this  Book,  Judge  JAMES  ROBINSON 
NEWHALL,  Lynn  Historian,  died  on  October  24th,  1893. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  this  book  was  in  plate  ready  for 
publication,  and  arrangements  were  being  made  for  print- 
ing and  binding.  The  Author  was  a  practical  compositor 
and  printer  as  well  as  historian,  and  he  himself  set  the 
type  from  which  the  plates  were  cast,  completing  his  work 
when  he  was  within  a  few  months  of  eighty-four  years  of 
age.  This  and  another  work,  "  The  Legacy  of  an  Octo- 
genarian," to  be  published  later,  were  arranged  and  com- 
pleted after  he  had  passed  his  eightieth  year.  On  page 
206  he  speaks  of  his  work  as  a  "labor  of  love,"  and  this 
was  characteristic  of  all  his  writings,  as  he  gave  faithfully 
and  unselfishly  of  his  time  and  labor  in  the  research  and 
arrangement  of  matters  of  local  historical  interest.  This 
work  is  now  published  as  carrying  out  the  plan  and  inten- 
tion of  the  respected  Author,  by 

ISRAEL  AUGUSTUS  NEWHALL. 
HOWARD  MUDGE  NEWHALL. 


LYNN,  MASS.,  December,  1896. 


CONTENTS. 


A 

AFFECTIONS,  unlawfully  seeking  to  win,  punishment  for,  350. 

Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery,  99  to  107. 

Angel  of  the  woods,  504. 

Animals.    Bears,  39,  189,  199,  274.    Foxes,  414,     Perfuming,  30,  211. 

Rats,  210.     Swine,  121.     Weasels,  21  r.     Wolf,  423. 
ARROW  JOHN,  the  Indian  chief — serious  and  diverting  points  of  his 

character  illustrated  by  incident  and  anecdote,  26,  66,  167,  187, 

217,  232,  266,  267,  270,  273,  495,  500. 

B 

Bakery,  John  Stone's,  in  Boston  —  humorous  and  disastrous  occur- 
rences there,  295  to  306. 

Be.acon  Hill,  how  formed,  according  to  Arrow  John,  267. 

Bilbowes.     See  Stocks. 

Board  and  lodging  for  members  of  the  Court,  209. 

Boston  school,  and  something  about  the  schoolmasters,  397  to  411. 

Bread.  The  Court  admonish  John  Stone  and  wife  to  make  bigger,  295. 
Great  prize  exhibition  of,  in  Boston,  306. 

Bucaneers,  226. 


Christmas.     At  the  Blue  Anchor  Tavern  —  affecting  scenes,  237. 

Penalty  for  the  observance  of,  477. 
Colony  House,  10  to  15,  49. 

Committees,  special,  of  the  Court,  and  their  doings,  70,  184,  299,  412. 
Contest  between  a  farmer  and  a  tanner,  137. 
Court,  laws  and  orders  of.     See  Enactments. 
Courtship,  349  to  365. 
Crows  —  Arrow  John's  account  of  their  destruction  by  the  clams.  2JO, 

Their  unmannerly  mocking  of  the  psalm-singers,  420. 

(5) 


Vl  CONTENTS. 

D 

Day,  good  Stephen,  the  first  printer  in  the  Colony,  his  outfit  and  his 

mishaps,  461  to  473. 

Divorce,  instances  of,  and  causes,  380  to  384. 
Doers  and  Talkers,  legislative,  180,  204,  282. 
Dress,  extravagance  in,  forbidden,  310  to  341. 
Drowned  girl  discovered  by  Sunnv  Wave,  196. 

E 

Election  day,  "  the  good  old  'lection,"  100. 
Eliot,  Rev.  John,  the  apostle  to  the  Indians,  197,  198,  199,  235,  419, 

483  to  487,  493,  497,  499. 

Elopement  of  Zadoc  Bread  and  Amabel  Cottleston,  358. 
Enactments  of  the  Court  —  illustrating  the  spirit  and  condition  of  the 

people,  40,41,  43,  44,  55,  59,  61,  63,  64,  70,  71,  ill,  114,  123, 

125,    149,    152,    172,    2O8,    2O9,    221    to   227,    255,    26O,    28o  tO   295, 

3°S.  3°6»  3°9  to  313,  326  to  328,  344  to  347,  350  to  352,  363  to 
367,  378  to  385,  391,  425,  429,  458,  471,  472,  476  to  478,  488. 

F 

Freemen,  their  qualifications  and  duties,  44. 

Funerals.  Of  the  Spanish  youth,  at  the  Blue  Anchor,  248.  Of  the 
gentle  Mary,  250.  Of  a  suicide,  480.  Of  Sunny  Wave,  497. 

G 

GENERAL  COURT.  Its  first  assembling  at  Boston,  9.  Dr.  Chauncey's 
slander  on,  48.  Its  sycophantic  address  to  Charles  II.,  149. 
Their  arrangement  for  the  entertainment  of  members  at  the  Ship 
Tavern,  221,  and  the  scene  at  an  evening  meal,  256.  Special 
committee  of,  view  Mr.  Humfrey's  wind-mill,  70.  Another  com- 
mittee look  after  the  Charles  river  tides,  184.  Another  visit  Mr. 
Stone's  bakery,  299.  Another  survey  land  for  Harvard  College, 
412.  See  Enactments. 

Ghostly  invasion,  "jL. 

GROUT,  HACHALIAH,  a  shining  light  —  biographical  sketch,  13410  160. 

H 

Harvard  College,  pet  child  of  the  Court,  receives  due  attention,  412. 
Corporal  punishment  in,  425,  429,  445.  Poor  fare  of  the  students, 
427.  Pranks  of  students,  452.  Condition  of,  in  1680,  458. 

Hastv  pudding,  33. 

Huis.    Beacon  Hill,  267.    Copp's  Hill,  267.    Fort  Hill,  154,  267. 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

UUBBARD,  LEVI,  a  shining  light.     Biographical  sketch,  160  to  179. 
Humfrey,  Dorcas  and  Sarah,  their  touching  history,  59  to  64.     84  to  9& 
HUMFREY,  JOHN,  a  shining  light    Biographical  sketch,  51  to  97. 
Husking  party,  441. 

I      J 

Incontinence  in  early  times,  365,  385. 
Infant  baptism,  476. 

Insane  woman  in  Boston  meeting  house,  313. 
Jewsharp  band,  108. 

K 

KEAYNE,  Capt  ROBERT,  a  shining  light.  Biographical  sketch,  97  to  134. 
Kerley,  Ebenezer,  the  rhyming  member.    His  eccentricities,  211  to  220. 

L 

Letters.     Boston  school  boy  to  his  sister,  and  her  answer,  401  to  405. 

Sunny  Wave  to  Rev.  Mr.  Eliot,  484. 
Lightning,  effects  of,  in  Mr.  Day's  printing  office,  464. 

M 

Marriage,  365  to  380.     Act  to  prevent  unlawful,  366. 
Marshall,  Capt.,  his  jolly  doings  and  magistral  lapses,  367  to  380. 
Mary,  the  gentle  maid  of  the  Blue  Anchor  Tavern,  231  to  252. 

N 
Nippy  Curlup,  the  tailor.     Dark  and  light  streaks  in  his  career,  233, 

318  to  326. 
NORTON,  ADONIRAM,  a  shining  light     Biographical  sketch,  179  to  206. 

O 

Orders  of  Court,  and  laws.     See  Enactments. 
Orthography  of  olden  time,  17. 

P 

Pic-nics.     In  Boston  Highlands,  194.     Near  Harvard  College,  413. 

PINION,  SIMON.  His  journal,  15.  Journey  with  Mr.  Higginson,  to 
attend  the  first  General  Court  at  Boston,  19.  Account  of  great 
training  of  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery,  103.  Account  of  a 
great  bread  show,  in  Boston,  306.  Account  of  pic-nic  on  Har- 
vard College  grounds,  413. 

Printing  office,  the  first  in  the  Colony,  460. 

Psalm  singing.     In  Court,  1 72.    At  pic-nic,  interrupted  by  crows,  420. 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

Punishments  —  corporal,  in  Harvard  College,  425,  429,  445  ;  various 
remarkable,  41,  55,  61,  63,  283,  284,  285,  290,  292,  293,  350, 
352,  425,  429,  476,  477,  478.  See  Enactments. 

R 

Rats  and  weasels  about  the  Colony  House,  210,  211. 
Regicides,  Gofif  and  Whalley,  appear  in  Court,  146. 


Schools,  order  of  Court  establishing,  391.  Boston  school  and  school- 
masters, 397  to  412. 

Sea-serpent,  217. 

Seaton,  Christine.  Her  fascinating  perverseness,  329  to  341.  Her 
mysterious  disappearance,  and  return  with  Sunny  Wave,  488  to 
492.  Her  final  disappearance,  503. 

Ship  Tavern,  at  Boston.  Entertainment  of  members  there,  221.  De- 
scription of,  and  scene  at  evening  meal,  252  to  279. 

Shop  keepers,  not  to  oppress  by  high  prices,  1 14,  345. 

Smoking,  not  allowed  in  court  room,  280. 

Snakes,  23,  210,  450,  456. 

Spanish  youth,  affecting  story  of,  225  to  249. 

Stocks,  164,  284,  285,  290. 

Suicide,  burial  of  a,  480. 

Sumptuary  laws,  310  to  346.     See  Enactments. 

SUNNY  WAVE,  the  Indian  maid  —  her  fascinating,  heroic,  and  virtu- 
ous traits  illustrated,  25,  66,  68,  85,  no,  167,  187,  191,  194, 
195,  198,  233,  234,  235,  244,  252,  308,  338,  359,  361,  418,  483, 
484.  Her  distressing  death,  493.  Her  burial,  498. 

Swine,  Capt  Keayne's  great  law  case  concerning,  121. 

T 

Talkers  and  Doers,  legislative,  180,  204,  282. 
Taverns.    The  Blue  Anchor,  and  remarkable  scenes  that  happened 

there,  223  to  252.     Ship  Tavern,  221,  252,  279. 
Tobacco,  use  of,  forbidden,  280  to  282. 
Trade,  principles  of,  false  and  true,  116. 

W 

Wages  of  mechanics  and  laborers,  341  to  346. 
War  ordinances,  in. 

Witch  hunting  in  Boston  Pasture,  436.    Witchery  in  printing  office,  464. 
Wolf  pit,  Mr.  Callings  falls  into  one  of  his  own  digging,  423. 


7 


AND        rENEI\AL 


CHAPTER  I. 


HISTORICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 

ri  ^HE  GREAT  AND  GENERAL  COURT  first  assembled 
1  in  Boston,  in  the  autumn  of  1630 :  the  Great  and 
General  Court — the  rock  and  shield  of  the  now  blissful 
and  boastful  old  Bay  State,  in  its  colonial  infancy,  its 
provincial  youth,  and  its  sovereign  manhood :  the 
Great  and  General  Court  —  sometimes  the  scene  of 
heroic  struggles  for  true  liberty  and  God-given  rights, 
and  sometimes  the  scene  of  sordid  strivings  and  vain 
bluster. 

It  was  a  momentous  occasion,  and  drew  together, 
as  well  it  might,  all  who  could  attend,  from  far  and 
near  —  the  patriotic,  the  curious,  the  idle  —  a  few 
only,  of  the  lame  and  the  timorous  shirks  remaining 
behind.  And  divers  Indians,  too,  from  the  neighbor- 
ing tribes,  came,  imposingly  bedecked  with  paint  and 
feathers,  anxious  to  be  present  at  the  first  "Big 
A*  (9) 


IO  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

Talk"  as  they  called  it,  of  the  white  men.  Big  Talk, 
forsooth !  It  was  one  that  might  well  have  hidden 
its  diminutive  head  if  compared  with  the  legislative 
talks  of  these  latter  days ;  talks  which  have  been 
growing  bigger  and  bigger  till  half  the  year  is  hardly 
sufficient  for  the  lingual  gyrations.  But  there  were 
some  members  of  that  rough-cast  assembly  whose 
renown  will  be  forever  green  in  our  annals — Brad- 
street,  Dudley,  Endicott,  Ludlow,  Nowell,  Piuchon, 
Saltonstall,  Winthrop,  among  them. 

The  structure  in  which  this  Court,  pregnant  of 
such  mighty  interests,  principles  and  promises,  was 
held  —  this  legislative  body  which  by  its  annual  re- 
newals has  been  continued,  with  few  interruptions,  to 
our  day,  a  beacon-light  of  political  wisdom,  though 
at  times  assuming  rather  the  appearance  of  a  revolv- 
ing light  —  was  somewhat  different,  both  in  itself  and 
its  surroundings  from  the  stately  edifice  that  now 
adorns  Beacon'  Hill.  But  as  one  may  be  wise,  and 
good,  and  great,  as  well  in  homespun  as  in  purple 
and  fine  linen,  so  wisdom,  goodness,  and  greatness 
may  develop  themselves  as  well  under  an  unceiled 
roof  as  under  a  gilded  dome. 

The  centre  of  a  straggling  pine  grove,  a  little  to 
the  south-west  of  Copp's  Hill  was  the  site  of  the  gro- 
tesque structure  which  the  patriotic  men  of  Boston 
had  provided  for  the  assembly,  looking  forward,  doubt- 
less, for  remuneration,  when  the  Court  should  convene. 
The  prim  old  trees,  as  if  conscious  of  the  dignity 
of  the  occasion,  had,  by  the  aid  of  an  opportune  frost, 
prepared  an  aromatic  carpet  of  brown,  which  a  spir- 
ited wind  had  occupied  the  whole  preceding  night 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  II 

in  spreading  all  around,  so  yielding  that  the  most 
soft-footed  gravity  might  not  be  discomposed. 

The  day  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  lovely 
of  the  whole  of  the  blessed  Indian-summer,  which 
that  year  happened  to  be  unusually  protracted.  A 
gentle  breeze  swept  down  from  the  south-west  and 
the  golden  haze  added  a  dreamy  charm  to  the  scarlet 
foliage  of  the  maple,  the  brown  of  the  oak,  and  orange 
of  the  walnut,  which  beautifully  mingled  with  the 
deep  green  of  the  pine  and  hemlock.  The  scene  was 
indeed  sufficiently  inspiring  to  even  extort  sundry 
appreciative  grunts  from  the  impassive  Indians  who 
were  loitering  about. 

Of  the  structure  itself  a  word  should  be  said.  It 
was  low,  and  built  of  rough-hewn  logs.  Upon  the 
inside,  for  some  four  feet  upward,  it  had  a  sort  of 
wainscoting  of  unplaned  boards  that  had  been  wrought 
from  the  huge  pines  which  so  lately  occupied  the  site, 
the  good  people  of  Salem,  who  owned  the  only  big 
saw  in  the  Colony,  having,  after  a  protracted  negotia- 
tion, consented  to  lend  that  useful  implement  for  the 
occasion.  There  was  a  small  window  upon  each  side, 
glazed  with  diminutive  panes,  so  knotty  and  wavy 
that  when  one  without  looked  in,  he  would  see  an 
assembly  of  giants  and  dwarfs,  some  leaning  this  way 
and  some  that,  and  some  on  their  very  heads  ;  and 
when  one  within  looked  out,  he  would  see  trees 
dancing  fantastic  jigs,  in  all  sorts  of  postures,  and 
rocks,  water,  and  clouds,  in  the  oddest  jumbles.  In 
short,  they  distorted  every  thing  viewed  through  them, 
to  as  great  an  excess  as  any  principle  could  be  distorted 
by  the  most  derelict  legislator.  To  assist  these  win- 


12  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

dows  in  the  admission  of  light,  there  were  irregular 
openings  between  the  upper  layers  of  logs,  covered 
with  transparent  animal  membrane.  The  door  was 
of  rough  plank,  with  an  enormous  wooden  latch  —  the 
string  of  which,  a  knotty  piece  of  second-hand  cod-line, 
always  hung  invitingly  out  —  and  swung  gracefully 
on  one  hinge  of  iron  and  two  of  uncurried  hide.  The 
chimney  was  built  of  unshapely  stones,  picked  up  in 
the  vicinity,  and  was  so  jagged  and  angular  that  the 
poor  smoke  found  it  a  hard  road  to  travel ;  so  hard, 
indeed,  that  unless  an  accommodating  wind  lent  its 
aid,  it  was  accustomed  frequently  to  give  over  the 
attempt,  and  expand  in  the  room,  much  to  the  annoy- 
ance of  the  members,  as  evidenced  by  their  red  and 
watery  eyes. 

The  interior  of  the  edifice  presented  an  array  of 
oaken  benches,  sufficiently  substantial  to  bear,  without 
a  creak,  the  dignity  of  the  whole  British  parliament. 
And  they  who  sat  on  those  uncomely  seats,  long  before 
the  disappearance  of  that  lowly  council-house,  had  the 
spirit  more  than  once  to  defy  the  power  of  that  august 
parliament,  and  the  sovereign  too.  Arranged  along 
the  walls  were  sundry  ponderous  tables  with  legs 
enough  to  sustain  a  perpetual  and  annoying  war  with 
the  legs  of  those  who  sat  by  them.  And  over  the 
tables,  picturesquely  hanging  against  the  wall,  at  a 
height  that  made  it  necessary  to  rise  for  every  dip 
of  the  pen,  were  divers  quaint-looking  inkhorns,  some 
of  which  had  served  one  term  of  usefulness  on  the 
heads  of  goats  and  rams,  and  some,  having  extraordi- 
nary twists  and  protuberances,  were  reputed  to  have 
once  adorned  the  heads  of  unicorns  and  devils,  which 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  13 

gentry,  the  latter  especially,  were  at  that  period  uni- 
versally believed  to  abound  in  our  woods  ;  the  Ply- 
mouth people,  too,  declaring  that  they  had  been  much 
disturbed  by  them.  Eagle  quills,  as  well  as  goose, 
were  provided  in  abundance,  and  long  knives  hung  in 
the  corners,  for  the  convenience  of  making  and  mend- 
ing pens.  Near  the  wall  opposite  the  entrance,  was 
a  rude  platform,  raised  on  blocks,  sufficiently  capa- 
cious for  the  accommodation  of  the  presiding  officer 
and  secretary.  The  chair  of  the  chief  dignitary  was 
a  ponderous,  fantastically-wrought  affair,  and  was 
brought  over  in  the  May  Flower,  among  the  count- 
less tons  of  trumpery  which  that  vessel,  of  miraculous 
capacity,  transported  hither.  It  came  into  Massachu- 
setts as  the  gift  of  the  redoubtable  Miles  Standish. 
But  the  Plymouth  people  soon  made  a  great  rumpus 
about  it,  declaring  that  it  was  not  his  to  give.  An 
expedition  was  sent  up  for  its  recovery,  but  was  obliged 
to  return  without  accomplishing  the  purpose  ;  and  it 
was  kept  spiked  down  till  the  danger  seemed  to  be 
over.  I  believe  the  last  service  it  performed  was  the 
heating  of  the  kitchen  oven  at  the  Ship  Tavern,  for 
it  suddenly  lost  all  favor,  by  one  afternoon,  without 
any  premonition,  disjointing  itself  and  letting  its 
occupant  fall  sprawling  upon  the  floor.  A  vote  was 
immediately  passed,  giving  the  wreck  to  the  keeper 
of  the  tavern,  with  whom  a  number  of  the  members 
boarded,  and  into  whose  capacious  oven  went  all  the 
irregular  and  crooked  sticks.  Its  ghost,  however,  has 
appeared  in  several  antiquarian  collections,  among 
the  innumerable  other  May  Flower  ghosts. 

The  building  had  a  pitch  roof  and  was  unceiled 


14  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

above,  so  that  a  series  of  knotty  and  irregular  rafters 
were  visible,  among  which  the  industrious  wasps  and 
hornets  found  hospitable  niches  in  which  to  entrench 
themselves  and  rear  their  useful  progeny. 

Just  in  the  rear  of  the  building,  and  protecting  it 
from  the  north  winds,  arose  an  enormous  boulder, 
from  the  summit  of  which  one  might  scan  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Bay,  and  the  wavy  woods  beyond  the 
river,  with  here  and  there  a  spire  of  smoke  marking 
the  habitation  of  some  settler  or  the  wigwam  of  some 
Indian.  From  beneath  the  boulder  issued  a  sportive 
little  stream  which  dashed  along  over  a  pebbly  bed  to 
a  miry  expansion  below,  where  the  bullfrogs  were 
wont  to  erect  their  green  heads  and  gruffly  utter  their 
compliments  to  the  squirrels  who  sported  in  the 
branches  above,  and  their  suspicions  to  the  hungry 
snakes  who  coiled  expectant  among  the  rushy  tufts. 

Then  upon  the  little  plain  that  spread  out  from  the 
western  slope  were  picturesquely  arranged  sundry 
flakes  which  had  been  erected  for  the  convenience 
of  drying  salted  cod  fish.  The  sympathies  of  the 
Court,  at  a  very  early  period,  went  lovingly  out 
toward  cod  fish,  and  the  hardy  piscine  adventurers 
along  our  shores  throve  wonderfully  under  the  benefi- 
cent legislative  smiles.  And  in  years  long  after  the 
odorous  old  flakes  had  disappeared,  and  the  place  of 
assembly  had  been  removed  to  a  far-off  point,  they 
had  the  likeness  of  a  cod  fish  made  and  hung  up  in 
the  hall.  And  so  it  has  hung  to  this  day  —  rather  a 
scaly  idol,  to  be  sure,  but  perhaps  one  sufficient  to 
bring  them  within  the  terms  of  the  injunction  not  to 
worship  the  likeness  of  any  thing  in  the  water.  We 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  1$ 

talk  lightly  of  a  "  cod  fish  aristocracy  ; "  but  the  irrev- 
erence arises  from  ignorance  of  history.  On  a  headland 
near  the  water's  edge,  a  rudely  constructed  wind-mill 
swung  its  ponderous  arms,  and  always  held  itself  in 
readiness,  under  favor  of  a  good  breeze,  to  do  its  duty 
in  pumping  water  into  the  salt-pans,  a  few  of  which  had 
been  hastily  set,  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  fishermen. 
As  there  may  here  and  there  in  this  volume  be  a 
fact  or  circumstance  brought  under  notice  that  cannot 
be  found  stated  on  the  regular  records,  it  may  be  well 
now  to  remark  that  I  have  derived  no  inconsiderable 
information  touching  the  doings  of  the  Court,  as  well 
as  regarding  other  matters  illustrative  of  those  early 
times,  from  a  journal  kept  by  one  Simon  Pinion,  who 
seems  to  have  been  an  attendant  on  the  sessions  of 
the  Court  for  a  considerable  time.  After  sleeping 
quietly  for  more  than  two  hundred  years,  in  what 
rubbish-receptacle  no  one  knows,  this  invaluable  col- 
lection fell  into  my  hands  through  the  agency  of  a 
friendly  paper-maker,  who,  during  the  great  scarcity 
of  paper-stock  in  the  early  part  of  the  war  of  the  rebel- 
lion, in  answer  to  a  newspaper  advertisement,  received 
cart-loads  of  what  the  old  ladies  called  "  lutter,"  from 
cob  webbed  garrets  and  dark  closets.  Of  the  journal- 
ist himself  I  am  unable  to  give  much  information,  for 
he  seems  to  have  had  little  ambition  to  become  con- 
spicuous, and  consequently  his  name  is  seldom  met 
in  the  public  records  —  the  common  fate  of  modesty. 
Yet  it  is  evident  that  he  possessed  a  genial  mind,  was 
intelligent,  and  a  keen  observer  of  passing  events. 
His  education  appears  to  have  been  very  fair,  and  his 
association  with  all  classes  familiar. 


1 6  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

No  one  who  examines  the  records  of  the  General 
Court,  for  many  years,  as  they  have  come  down  to  us, 
can  for  a  moment  suppose  that  they  contain  an  ac- 
count of  all  the  doings.  The  shrewd  old  legislators 
had  solid  reasons  for  not  having  all  their  proceedings 
appear  in  black  and  white,  reasons  which  sometimes 
not  very  remotely  touched  the  connection  between 
their  heads  and  shoulders.  And  there  exist  remarka- 
ble precedents  in  that  direction.  Even  in  the  records 
of  the  British  high  court  of  chancery  a  significant 
hiatus  may  here  and  there  be  found.  Some  of  the 
important  results  arrived  at  by  our  fathers  were 
reached  by  amazingly  short  cuts,  the  trail  being  care- 
fully obliterated. 

I  was  going  to  state  that  Mr.  Pinion  represented 
Boston  in  the  Court,  for  many  years  ;  but  do  not  find 
his  name  in  any  list  now  at  hand.  It  may,  therefore, 
be  that  the  passages  in  his  journal  which  led  to  the 
supposition,  led  astray.  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
he  was  much  at  the  Court,  but  might  have  been  there 
as  a  lobby  member  —  a  kind  of  attendant  so  uncom- 
mon at  this  day,  that  a  description  may  be  needed ; 
though  on  the  whole  it  would  hardly  be  advisable  to 
give  one,  as  it  might  have  some  tendency  to  revive  a 
disreputable  custom  now  so  happily  obsolete.  I  can- 
not think,  however,  that  one  gifted  with  such  an  open 
and  honest  mind  as  he  evidently  had,  could  fill  such 
a  position.  He  certainly  could  not  have  been  there 
as  a  newspaper  reporter,  for  there  were  no  newpapers 
to  report  for.  Possibly  he  may  have  been  there  as  a 
man  of  leisure,  seeking  amusement,  for  that  was  about 
the  only  place  in  the  broad  land,  where  amusement 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  1 7 

was  then  to  be  found.  But  these  surmises  are  not 
of  much  importance  ;  we  have  him  there,  and  that  is 
sufficient  for  our  purpose. 

A  charming  air  of  truthfulness  pervades  Mr.  Pin- 
ion's jottings ;  and  I  feel  no  temptation  to  disturb  his 
quaint  style  and  simple  language  further  than  to  vary 
the  spelling  of  a  word,  when,  in  the  shape  he  put  it, 
it  would  not  be  likely  to  be  understood  at  all ;  for  I 
should  be  very  sorry  to  have  my  good  friend,  the 
reader,  every  now  and  then  throw  down  the  book, 
exclaiming,  "  Confound  the  unintelligible  words  " — 
as  the  readers  of  Scott's  novels,  fifty  years  ago,  used 
to  drop  their  books  and  "  Confound  the  Scotchisms  " — 
though  they  did  not  suffer  them  to  lie  long  ;  a  differ- 
ent fate,  most  likely,  from  that  which  would  attend 
this  book.  And,  moreover,  the  few  changes  I  make 
cannot  be  called  taking  liberties,  for  he  himself,  in 
common  with  all  others  at  that  period,  usually  spelled 
the  same  word  in  divers  ways.  Orthography,  in 
short,  was  then  very  much  a  matter  of  taste,  there 
being  no  acknowledged  standard.  It  was  by  no 
means  always  ignorance  that  produced  the  discord- 
ance in  spelling,  though  the  discordance  often  turned 
out  to  be  useful  in  concealing  ignorance.  In  the 
matter  of  abbreviations  they  went  to  an  amusing 
extent.  Some,  for  instance,  wrote  &,  vf^1,  wth,  y*,  ym, 
yn,  y°,  y4,  for  and,  which,  with,  the,  them,  then,  you,  that, 
in  all  cases ;  others  spelled  the  words  in  full,  or  ab- 
breviated indiscriminately.  Some  seldom  abbrevi- 
ated ;  others  had  a  passion  for  the  short-hand  style, 
contracting,  apparently,  whenever  they  could  find  a 
decent  pretense.  But  all  seem  to  have  entertained  an 

2 


1 8  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

almost  childish  inclination  to  show  their  ingenuity  in 
spelling  the  same  word  in  as  many  ways  as  the  sounds 
of  letters  would  admit.  I  have  seen,  in  a  deposition 
of  some  twelve  lines,  the  name  of  the  deponent  spelled 
in  five  different  ways.  The  ye  grew  out  of  the  peculiar 
way  of  forming  the  letters  in  writing  the  as  any  one 
may  perceive  by  closely  examining  old  manuscripts  ; 
though  Webster  says  the  ye,  as  thus  used,  is  a  corrupt 
representation  of  the  Saxon  character  which  was 
equivalent  to  our  th  —  which  seems  to  me  learned 
error.  Some  letters  were  very  commonly  used  inter- 
changeably, as  i  and/,  u  and  v.  These  few  remarks 
on  the  ancient  mode  of  spelling  may  be  worthy  of 
notice  by  such  readers  as  have  not  been  accustomed 
to  the  perusal  of  old  works,  as  occasionally,  through- 
out our  volume,  will  appear  extracts  from  early  records, 
so  quaint  and  queer. 

I  find  in  the  journal  of  Mr.  Pinion  a  very  opportune 
account  of  the  perils  and  adventures  that  befel  the 
worthy  Mr.  Higginson  and  himself  on  their  way 
to  attend  this  Court.  And  I  extract  it  here  with 
much  pleasure,  as  giving  a  faithful  glimpse  of  the 
difficulties  that  attended  the  performance  of  their 
political  duties  by  the  men  of  that  day.  Those  who 
now  glide  up  to  the  General  Court,  in  a  few  hours, 
from  the  remotest  corners  of  the  State,  lolling  upon 
the  velvet  seats  of  the  rail-road  cars  —  many  of  them, 
no  doubt,  enjoying  the  vivifying  fumes,  the  intellectual 
repast,  and  the  liquid  adornments,  to  be  found  in  the 
smoking  cars  —  more  at  ease  than  if  at  home  in  their 
ostentatious  parlors  —  might  find  it  difficult  to  realize 
the  condition  of  things  at  that  period.  Such  cotem- 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  19 

porary  details  furnish  the  very  best  pictures  of  the 
times  to  which  they  relate. 

Well,  then,  Mr.  Pinion  says  : 

"  As  ye  Genrall  Cote  was  to  assemble  att  Boston, 
on  ye  morrow,  and  I  being  on  a  vissit  to  Sallem,  att 
Mr  Higginson  his  hows,  hee  sayd  to  me  yl  as  itt  were 
well  to  bee  at  our  poste  betimes,  it  might  not  bee 
amiss  to  starte  y*  day,  by  wch  meanes  wee  cd,  haply, 
reach  Goodman  Bennett  his  hows  by  night,  lodge 
there,  and  bee  refresht  for  ye  rest  of  ye  journie,  and 
for  ye  comeing  xrcises.  And  lest,  peradventure,  we 
might  need  wherewth  to  stay  our  stomacks  by  ye  way — 
not  haueing  faith  suffitient  to  ye  findeing  of  manna  in 
ye  wildernesse — he  sayd  wee  cd  take  enow  in  our 
wallets  for  that,  and  supp  at  our  lodging  place.  This 
met  my  own  mind ;  and  soe,  earlie  in  ye  afternoon, 
wth  a  well  stuffed  wallet  on  my  back,  and  a  red  kegg 
wth  a  few  comforting  drams  therein  strapped  vpon  his, 
wee  sett  fourth,  purposeing  to  goe  afoote,  he  deeming 
it  unseemlie  to  ride  ye  old  bull,  on  sutch  an  occation, 
and  both  feareing  y1  ye  horse  wd  be  but  a  trouble  on 
soe  rough  a  roade. 

"  Wee  had  stout  oaken  staffs  to  stay  our  steps  and 
withal  to  defend  against  any  potent  adversarie  that 
might  assail  vs.  And  to  add  wh*  we  might  to  our 
presence,  we  bedeckt  orselves  in  our  best  apparell, 
well  knowing  yl  manie  reckon  others  by  their  loocks. 
Mr  Higginson  wore  his  brown  veluet  breeches,  and 
his  coat  of  blew  ffrench  stuff,  his  broidered  doublet,, 
his  white  leggins  and  his  best  deer-skin  half-bootes. 
Hee  had  tasty  red  ribbins  knotted  at  ye  knees,  and; 
vpon  his  head  he  wore  his  famous  London  hatt,  w11" 


2O  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

brim  y*  could  be  brought  down  over  his  eares  like 
ye  bonnet  of  a  dame,  and  tied  aneath  his  chinn,  or 
cd  be  buttoned  to  ye  crown  like  ye  capp  of  a  Dutch 
admiral  —  ye  same  hatt  yl  had  soe  struck  ye  fancy 
of  ye  Indjan  warriors  yl  they  had  manie  times  essayed 
to  steal  ye  same. 

"  Wee  took  our  way  threw  ye  pine  plats,  and  over 
ye  hills  toward  ye  Sawgust  Plantacion.  Nickt  trees 
and  divers  marks  made  by  other  trauellers  helped  to 
guide  vs  in  ye  right  way  most  of  ye  time,  and  wee 
beguiled  ye  tedjousness  by  holdeing  mch  earnest  dis- 
course on  ye  great  matters  that  might  presently  turn 
vpp  for  our  comfort  or  distres.  He  W1  haue  it  that 
ye  devill  was  about  to  let  loose  his  impes  vppon  vs  for 
to  doe  his  misscheifs  while  we  were  yet  but  a  small 
peeple  and  weak  ;  for,  said -he,  ye  evill  beast  knoweth 
passing  well  when  to  strike  his  blows.  But,  said  I, 
Master  Higginson,  I  feare  no  sutch  doleful  happening, 
for  be  we  not  in  God  his  keeping,  whose  chosen  pee- 
ple we  surelie  are,  worthie  pilgrims,  well  instructed 
in  ye  scriptures  and  ye  cattykism,  and  well  grounded 
in  ye  holie  ordinances  and  docktrines,  haueing  godly 
ministers,  too,  to  watch  ye  fold  agnst  ravening  beasts  ? 
And  moreouer,  sayd  I,  will  not  ye  God  who  sent  vs 
hither  to  plant  and  keep  alive  ye  trew  vine  bee  wth  vs  ? 
Will  nott  ye  great  Master  take  care  of  his  owne  ?  It 
doth  seem  to  mee  yl  sutch  misgivings  are  but  doubt- 
ings  of  his  powr  and  prommises.  But  say  what  I 
would,  he  must  needes  still  hold  to  great  feare  of  ye 
devill. 

"Then  againe  we  held  discourse  touching  some 
of  ye  great  matters  yl  might  presently  com  befour  vs 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  21 

in  ye  Corte,  and  of  our  prospects  as  a  peeple.  Com 
vp  yonder,  Simon,  sayd  he,  poynting  wth  his  staff  to 
a  mightie  roc  by  ye  wayside,  Com  vp,  and  I  will  show 
you  a  goodlie  sight  Nay,  nay,  sd  I,  for  wee  shall 
haue  climbing  enow,  befor  wee  reach  or  journeys  end. 
And  moreouer,  itt  is  not  wise  to  keep  leaveing  ye 
path ;  for  whn  one  is  in  ye  right  way,  hee  doeth  well 
to  pursue  it  diligently,  not  turning  to  right  nor  left  to 
see  new  things  —  and  we  may  presently  lose  orselves 
in  ye  mazes  of  ye  wildernesse.  And  I  did  remind 
him  of  ye  scripture  wherein  is  told  of  a  great  tempta- 
tion on  a  high  mountain.  But  he  would  haue  it  y*  we 
shd  goe  vp  —  and  being  a  little  heady  I  was  faine  to 
doe  as  he  wd. 

"  Being  vp  on  ye  mowntain  roc,  after  mch  paines, 
he  first  took  off  his  hatt,  and  wiped  ye  sweatt  from 
his  face  wch  was  mch  disfigured  wth  wartes,  amoung 
wch  ye  little  streames  trickled  zigzaging  downe.  And 
then,  stretching  fourth  his  staff,  as  did  Moses  on  vew- 
ing  ye  promissed  land,  he  sd,  Now,  Simon,  I  wd  y* 
y°  caste  yr  eye  ouer  ye  lande,  and  say  if  it  be  not  a 
goodlie  herryttage.  Yonder  may  be  made  broade 
feilds  for  grain  and  other  products.  Ye  waters  there 
are  stored  wth  savoury  ffish,  yea,  wth  aboundance  of 
goodlie  cod  ffish.  And  ye  great  occean  beyond  is 
ye  grand  highway  on  w°h  shipps  may  ride  to  vs  wth  all 
ye  good  things  of  distant  landes.  What,  then,  shall 
hinder  vs  to  be,  at  sum  day,  a  mightie  nation.  Here 
is  room  enow  for  more  peeple  yn  ye  hosts  of  Israel 
could  number.  Look  yonder,  too,  vpon  ye  boundless 
forrest,  and  consider  whl  noble  spoyl  may  there  be 
made ;  wh*  countless  habittacions,  yea,  and  statelie 


22  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

shipps  may  be  built  from  ye  huge  and  towring  trees. 
Yes,  yes,  sayd  I,  but  if  y*  forrest  be  alreadie  giuen 
ouer  for  ye  habbitacion  of  dragons  and  devills  who 
can  abide  therein  to  uplift  ye  ax  ?  Butt  he,  not  heed- 
ing what  I  sayd,  grew  warmer  still,  and  seizing  my 
hand  wth  mch  fervour,  furthr  sayd,  Yea,  and  yea,  Si- 
mon, in  generrations  yet  for  to  com  here  will  be  a 
great  and  powrfull  nation  —  a  land  wherein,  as  ye 
script1"  saith,  thou  shalt  eat  bread  wthout  scarceness 
and  shalt  not  lack  anie  thing  in  it.  Here  will  bee 
grl  marchants  and  cunning  craftsmen  ;  and  holie  men 
and  sages  shall  rise  vp.  Mark  my  prophesie,  mark  it, 
mark  it,  Simon,  and  see  if  it  doth  not  com  to  pas. 

"  I  do  not  know,  Master  Higginson,  sayd  I,  where 
I  may  be  in  generations  to  com,  so  yl  I  can  see  these 
great  things  com  to  pas.  Tru,  ye  lande  is  now  uery 
faire  to  loock  vpon  wth  a  pleasant  sunn  shining  above ; 
but  we  doe  well  to  considder  yl  this  herrytage  came 
vnder  ye  gr1  curse  pronounced  at  ye  beginning ;  and 
so  ye  outrages  of  storme  and  tempest  must  needs  fall 
vpon  it,  and  cold  and  heat  doe  their  evill  work.  And, 
worse  than  all,  as  y°  yrselfe  will  have  it  yl  evill  spiritts 
doe  greatlie  abound,  must  we  not  fear  that  that  wind 
will  be  sown  whrof  ye  whirlwind  will  som  day  be 
reapt  ?  Butt  is  yc  land  in  truth  ours,  or  have  ye 
Indjan  salvages  yet  rights  in  ye  herittage  ? 

"  It  will  be,  it  will  be  ours,  sayd  he,  and  that  pres- 
entlie,  for  God  hath  sent  vs  hither  to  occupie.  Ye 
tawnie  and  devill-nursed  barbarians  will  melt  away 
like  ye  ice  of  winter  befoar  ye  winds  of  spring.  And 
I  feel,  at  this  moment  that  ye  morrow  hath  mch  to  doe 
wth  ye  great  times  to  com. 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  2 3 

"  Now,  sayd  he,  we  will  sitt  down  on  ye  rock,  and 
refresh  orselues  somewhat  from  ye  wallett  and  kegg. 
And  while  preparing  our  meat,  a  strange  whirring  or 
rattling  noyse  was  heard  nigh  at  hand.  What  is  that, 
what  is  that,  Simon  ?  sayd  Mr  Higginson,  takeing  ye 
kegg  from  his  lipps,  and  peering  about  in  som  fright ; 
MV^  words  were  but  uttered,  whn  a  pestiferous  serpent 
wth  divers  rattles  in  his  tail,  glided  vp  from  a  crevice, 
and  quicklie  quoiled  himself  wth  his  head  erected,  his 
eyes  glistening,  and  his  forked  tongue  thrusting  out 
at  vs  in  gr'  spitefulnes.  Mercie  on  vs,  ejaculated  Mr 
Higginson,  much  scared ;  mercie  on  vs  ;  whl  did  I 
say,  just  now,  ab*  devills.  And  he  dropt  ye  kegg,  wch 
rolled  downe  ye  hill,  spilling  all  ye  pretious  liquor. 
Strike,  Simon,  strike,  he  exclaimed,  in  gr1  terrour, 
iumping  vp  and  swinging  his  armes  aloft,  strike,  and 
beat  downe  ye  evil  beaste,  or  we  orselues  shall  both  be 
destroyed.  And  I,  girding  myselfe  wth  a  remembranc 
of  ye  great  temptation,  did  strike,  wth  mch  heartines, 
beating  ye  life  out  of  ye  monster  afore  he  had  tyme  to 
spring  vpon  us. 

"  Well  don,  Simon,  well  don,  cried  Mr  Higginson, 
you  have  shurelie  despatched  a  most  pestigeous  imp 
of  ye  devill.  Never  parley,  never  parley,  nor  prevari- 
cate wth  sutch  damd  stragglers  from  y6  nether  world. 
But  com,  we  will  abide  here  no  longer,  not  knowing 
whl  cursed  shape  ye  evill  one  or  som  other  servant 
of  his,  may  next  put  on,  to  our  fright  and  danger ; 
nor  how  soone,  nor  in  wh*  shape  ye  slimy  impe  befoar 
vs  may  arise  to  his  unholie  work.  Yr  blows,  Simon, 
did  strike  home,  but  in  faith  did  not  ye  baptism  fm  y* 
keg  doe  somewh1  of  ye  work  ?  It  was  a  providence  y* 


24  I.      HISTORICAL  AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

we  borrow*1  ye  sacramental  wine  keg  for  our  occation, 
ye  presence  even  of  so  sacred  a  vessel  being  potent. 

"  I  am  amazd,  Master  Higginson,  sayd  I,  at  what 
y°  utter,  and  more  amazd  at  yor  prophanitie.  What 
prophanitie,  Simon,  sayd  he,  brisquely,  I  utterd  none  ; 
or  if  I  did,  it  was  but  an  evil  turn  of  ye  tongue  wthout 
assent  of  ye  minde.  We  are  tau1,  Simon,  y*  tongues 
are  unrulie  members  ;  and  ye  best  of  ym  will  some- 
times work  awry.  Well,  well,  sayd  I,  it  is  ouer  now. 
But  I  dew  surmise  yl  ye  fumes  of  ye  strong  liquor,  or 
ye  spattering  of  ye  same  on  ye  serpent  his  head  did 
help  to  our  conquest,  for  whn  ye  keg  came  down  he 
squirmd  handsomlie. 

"  Wee  were  soon  on  our  way  again.  And  when  by 
our  judgm4  we  had  com  wthin  a  myle  or  two  of  Good- 
man Bennett  his  hows,  we  fell  vpon  a  great  store 
of  luscious  grapes,  and  would  fain  tarry  to  refresh 
orselues  in  ye  use  of  ye  same.  But  som  ill  was  like  to 
com  of  this,  for,  step  by  step,  we  wander*1  from  ye 
path  till  we  were  quite  lost  in  ye  wildernes.  Beating 
abovt  to  noe  purpos,  till  nigh  ye  tyme  of  sunnsetting, 
gr'  feare  began  to  fall  vpon  vs,  w0*1  surelie  did  not 
abate  whn  we  began  to  heare  divers  terrible  roareings 
and  bellowings  farr  off  in  ye  woodes.  Wee  conjec- 
tured yl  bears  and  lyons  were  prowling  vp  and  down, 
and  unicorns  and  dragons,  perhaps.  And  Mr  Hig- 
ginson would  haue  it  y'  sum  must  be  devills,  as  he 
verrily  tho1  he  smelt  brimston  in  ye  aire. 

"  Being  wearie  and  sorely  perplext  wee  paused  to 
consider  whl  had  best  be  done.  But  presentlie,  on 
peering  forward  among  y*  trees,  we  discried  y1  w01* 
filled  me  wth  amazemnt  and  Mr  Higginson  wth  alarum. 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  2$ 

He  declared  yl  it  cd  bee  nothing  but  one  of  ye  devills 
w1*  he  was  well  persuaded  had  bin  sent  by  their  mastr 
to  obstruct  our  way.  But  I  replyd  yl  it  seemed  to  me 
his  head  was  a  very  breeding  place  of  monsters  ;  and 
that  to  me,  this  appearance  was  more  like  an  angell 
yn  a  devill.  And  so,  scanning  ye  appearance  still 
furthr  I  was  faine  to  say,  If  my  eyes  doe  not  deceive 
me,  it  is  a  faire  Indjan  mayd,  wth  white  eagle  plumes, 
wch  betoken  high  breeding,  among  ye  salvages,  as  I 
haue  heard  Mr  Endicott  say  ;  and  she  is  begirt  wth  a 
braive  red  sash,  and  bedeck1  wth  dyvers  shining  trink- 
ets sch  as  ye  forrest  mayds  do  most  covet ;  surelie, 
too,  she  hath  a  dainty  step,  and  sped  athwart  ye  open- 
ing as  lightsom  as  a  young  fawne.  And  loock  even 
now  toward  yonder  great  hemlock,  and  see  how  cun- 
ninglie  she  peereth  vpon  vs  from  behind  ye  trunck. 
I  warrant  y°  Master  Higginson,  y*  there  is  flesh  and 
bloud,  and  dainty,  too. 

"  Angell  or  devill,  sayd  hee,  wee  will  pursue,  and 
haply  it  may  be  vnto  vs  a  meanes  of  escape  from  our 
present  bewilderm',  tho  I  have  heard  of  good  men 
being  lured  to  destruction  by  devills  appeareing  in 
y6  shape  of  faire  women.  But  night  is  comeing  on 
apace,  and  if  we  doe  not  finde  our  way  presentlie,  we 
must  abide  here  for  ye  night.  But,  Simon,  Simon, 
sayd  he,  chucking  my  ribs  wth  his  staff,  and  leering 
wth  a  knowing  look  vpon  me,  thou  art  a  great  rogue, 
and  mch  beguiled  by  womankind.  But  I  tell  y°  ye  old 
deludor  cometh  often  in  their  shape  to  lure  men  to 
destruccion.  Beware,  beware. 

"  Wee  now  made  what  haste  we  cd  toward  y6  tree, 
crying  to  hir,  y6  while,  not  to  be  afraide ;  y'  we  were 
B 


26  I.      HISTORICAL  AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

trauellers  who  wd  haue  some  guide  to  restore  vs  to 
our  lost  way ;  thus  crying  in  ye  hope  y1  she  might 
know  enow  of  ye  English  tongue  to  understand  our 
callammity  and  enow  of  ye  wildernesse  to  lead  vs  out. 
But  she  bounded  off  wth  gr*  speed ;  and  quickening 
our  pace  we  pursued  on  and  presentlie  came  vppon  a 
great  roc,  whence  we  spied  hir,  nimbly  speeding 
on,  and  crying  in  gr*  alarrum,  till  she  fell,  panting 
like  a  hunted  hare,  right  into  y*  armes  of  a  brawnie 
Indjan  who  had  rushed  forwd  at  hir  ringing  cry.  He 
cacht  hir  in  his  armes  and  loockt  fiercely  about  to 
see  what  dangr  threatend,  while  she  lovinglie  clung 
about  his  neck.  It  was,  in  sooth,  a  touching  sight  to 
behold  there  in  ye  dark  woodes.  Then  it  seemed  as 
if  she  complaind  to  him  of  our  pursuit.  And  there- 
vppon  he  gentlie  put  hir  downe  and  seizd  his  knotty 
clubb  and  strode  fourth  wth  it  uplifted  as  if  he  would 
smite  vs  to  ye  earth. 

"  Wee  essayed  to  make  hym  vnderstand  who  in 
truth  wee  were  ;  and  felt  mch  releif  whn  wee  found  y* 
they  both  knew  somewh1  of  our  tongue.  Hir  terrour 
soone  abated,  and  shee  stood  fourth  besyde  hir  father, 
as  comelie  a  mayd  as  evr  trod  ye  wild  woodes.  In  ye 
parlie  wee  were  certified  yl  hee  was  a  cheife  of  mch 
peeple  somewh1  to  ye  northward.  Ye  mothr  of  ye  little 
mayd  was  dead,  and  he  mdl  loved  hir,  his  onlie  child. 
Wee  had  som  friendlie  talk,  and  they  wd  faine  haue 
vs  goe  to  their  lodge  and  eate  of  their  corne  cake  and 
dryed  ffish,  and  abide  wth  ym  till  morning ;  but  wee 
wd  not,  seeing  ye  long  journie  yet  befour  vs.  The 
Indjan  sayd  if  we  wd  not  tarry  wth  ym  hee  W1  put  vs 
vppon  y"  shortest  way  to  Goodman  Bennett  his  hous. 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  2"J 

And  wth  great  thankfulness  wee  took  him  for  our 
guide.  While  holdeing  this  discours,  ye  mayd  ran 
away,  and  presentlie  came  back  wlh  a  baskett  filled 
wth  sutch  noble  chesnutts  as  olde  Engld  is  a  strainger 
to.  Shee  sayd  shee  had  gatherd  ym  wth  hir  owne 
handes,  and  we  were  welcom  to  ym.  And  whn  we 
had  made  our  pocketts  heavy  wth  ym  she  seemd  greivd 
yl  we  wd  take  no  more.  Heathen  daughf,  cryed  Mr 
Higginson,  mch  roused,  and  wiping  his  eyes,  thou 
indeed  art  not  altogether  a  child  of  ye  devill ;  where 
hast  thou  bin  to  pick  vp  ye  seed  of  grace  ?  goe  wth  me 
to  ye  white  men  their  home  ;  goe,  learne  of  their  God 
and  ye  way  to  his  kingdom.  Noe,  noe,  sayd  she, 
moved  even  vnto  teares,  and  clinging  fast  to  ye  gar- 
ments of  hir  fathr,  noe,  noe,  I  will  not  goe,  for  my 
mothr  be  gon  to  ye  Grl  Spirritt,  and  whr  she  hath  gon 
there  vfi  I  goe. 

"  Then  ye  Indjan  bade  vs  follow  hym,  if  we  W1  not 
tarry  for  ye  night,  and  sayd  as  ye  day  was  so  far  spent 
we  must  move  apace  or  ye  darknes  wd  be  vpon  vs 
befour  we  cd  reach  ye  hous  of  Goodmn  Bennett.  So 
wee  started  off  at  good  speed.  On  ye  way  he  W1  talk 
mch  of  his  daughf,  whom  he  sayd  ye  white  peeple  ab* 
his  horn  called  SUNNY  WAVE.  And  in  truth  wee  did 
think  hir  a  most  comelie  mayd,  and  of  bright  and 
loveing  minde.  As  we  trauelled  along,  she  did  sing 
som  wild  Indjan  songs,  w0*1  eccod  off  in  ye  dusky 
woodes  allmost  like  spirrit  songs.  Wth  som  of  hir 
strange,  and  touching  tones  Mr  Higginson  was  mch 
oVcom,  and  sayd  in  a  chokeing  voyce,  O,  Simon, 
Simon,  I  doe  hazard  to  say  y*  if  this  be  a  child  of 
sathan  then  sathan  hath  a  child  of  most  wonderful 


28  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

graces.  Yn  againe  shee  did  putt  onn  a  right  merrie 
mood  and  by  hir  odd  conceits  make  us  laugh  till  ye 
teares  came  again.  And  Mr  Higginson,  forgetting 
himselfe,  did  clapp  his  hands  right  heartilie  at  hir 
cunning  imitacions  of  a  minister  she  had  once  heard 
preach  in  Plimouth  Collonie,  and  who  had  a  strange 
way  of  snuffing  and  xrcising  his  armes. 

"  Our  way  was  rough,  and  we  had  aboundance  of 
scratches  from  ye  brambles,  and  manie  dangers  from 
ye  pitfalls  yl  had  bin  made  for  to  catch  ye  wolves. 
And  our  feet  were  made  soar  by  ye  rough  rocks. 

"  Wee  reached  Goodman  Bennett*  his  hows  just  as 
y6  moone  was  rising  aboue  ye  trees.  Ye  Indjans 
were  prest  to  tarry  for  rest  and  refreshm1  but  wd  not, 
and  presentlie  departed,  Sunny  Wave  being  in  hir 
father  his  armes,  shee  saying  to  him  y*  she  wd  not  be 
carryd  on  his  back,  in  ye  Indjan  fashion,  likeing  better 
ye  white  mann  his  way.  And  ye  Indjan  sayd,  as  hee 
went,  yl  mayhap  he  shd  be  at  ye  Cote,  on  ye  morrow, 

*  This  was  undoubtedly  Samuel  Bennet,  who  lived  in  what  is  now 
the  upper  part  of  Saugus.  He  afterward  accumulated  some  property, 
having  added  to  his  farming  enterprises,  the  teaming  of  wood  and 
clearing  of  land.  A  cotemporary  account  says  he  "  yearly  yearned 
vast  somes  by  his  teems."  He  also  seems  to  have  done  something  as 
a  carpenter.  He  was  not,  however,  above  reproach  in  his  moral  de- 
portment, for  in  1644  he  was  presented  by  the  grand  jury  as  "a 
comon  sleeper  in  time  of  exercise."  I  also  judge  that  besides  his 
moral  obliquity  he  was  afflicted  with  a  physical  irregularity  —  even 
with  strabismus ;  for  when  the  Court  was  petitioned  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  in  the  romantic  enterprise  of  straightening  the  river,  which  was 
exceedingly  crooked  near  where  he  lived,  several  witnesses  swore  that 
five  persons  had  been  made  cross-eyed  by  looking  on  the  stream,  and 
he  was  named  as  one  of  the  five.  At  the  time  Mr.  Higginson  and 
Mr.  Pinion  made  their  journey  to  the  Court,  Mr.  Bennet  had  been  but 
a  few  months  located  where  they  found  him. 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  29 

to  hear  ye  bigg  talk  of  ye  white  men.  Goodwyfe  Ben- 
nett certifyed  us  y*  she  knew  ye  Indjan  to  be  ye  cheif 
calld  ARROW  JOHN,  one  of  note,  and  a  freind  to  ye 
English.  Ye  Goodwyfe  gave  vs  a  heartie  welcome, 
and  wh"  hir  husband,  who  had  bin  working  in  ye  feild, 
returned,  sett  befour  vs  a  savourie  meale  of  venison, 
wth  som  fat  bear  steak,  and  other  wild  meat,  also 
artichokes,  and  a  saus  of  craunberrys,  togethr  wth  an 
aboundanc  of  a  lustious  drink,  mch  like  a  small  beere, 
made,  as  ye  dame  sayd,  of  rootes  and  herbs.  Mr  Ben- 
nett mostlie  occupies  in  husbandrie,  and  hath  dyvers 
acores  now  cleared  for  ye  plow,  of  w**  they  alreadie 
haue  one  in  ye  settlem1 ;  and  he  hath  raysed  som 
faire  pumpkins  and  turnips. 

"  Whn  ye  meale  was  ended  and  we  somewh1  restoH 
from  ye  paynes  and  weariness  of  ye  day,  we  w*  faine 
lend  a  hand  to  our  hoste  in.  ye  gathring  of  his  pump- 
kins lest  ye  threatened  frost  shd  make  spoyl  of  ym. 
Ye  night  was  pleasant  but  chill,  and  we  did  heare 
ye  notes  of  manie  whiprwills  sounding  abl  in  ye  woods  ; 
likewise  ye  barking  of  foxes  and  roareing  of  dyvers 
othr  ravening  beastes  —  unicornes  and  devills  againe, 
as  Mr  Higginson  wd  haue  it. 

"  While  busy  abl  ye  pumpkins,  Mr  Higginson  did 
spy  near  ye  wall  and  skulking  along  toward  ye  pole 
on  wch  som  poultrie  were  aroost,  a  suspitious  little 
annimal  wth  a  bushy  tayl ;  and  haueing  a  pumpkin  in 
his  hands,  and  deeming  yl  noe  good  was  intended  for 
ye  fowles  he  hurled  ye  fruit  at  ye  prowler  wth  all  his 
might.  Ye  aime  being  faire,  ye  beaste  was  knock4 
against  ye  wall ;  but  not  being  mch  hurt,  he  presently 
recover*1  himselfe,  and  in  ye  quick  tyme  of  a  lightning 


3O  I.       HISTORICAL    AND    DESCRIPTIVE. 

flash  shed  vpon  Mr  Higginson  a  liquor  of  sutch  horrid 
stink  y1  it  seemd  as  if  his  very  breath  wd  be  foreuer 
gon.  Hee  jumped  vpon  ye  wall  like  one  crazed, 
knocking  downe  ye  loose  stones  mch  to  ye  dangr  of  his 
limbs,  beating  his  thigh  wth  his  clencd  fist,  and  crying 
out  at  ye  top  of  his  voyce,  Ye  cursd  impes  of  perdicion 
are  surelie  now  vppon  vs  ;  and  what  in  ye  name  of 
heavn  will  next  befal  vs.  He  was  in  direful  agitacion  ; 
and  Mr  Bennett  stood  aghast  at  his  wild  doings  and 
prophane  wordes.  But  I,  having  heard  Mr  Gedney 
tell  of  an  annimal  found  hereabout  called  a  skunk, 
w**  prowleth  about  poultrie  yards,  and  hath  powr,  whn 
assayled,  to  shed  fourth  a  liquor  fit,  indeed,  for  a  very 
devill  to  be  baptizd  wth,  conjectured  yl  this  was  one 
of  ye  same.  And  soe  likewise  tho1  Mr  Bennett.  But 
a  terrible  tyme  wee  had  of  it.  Mercie  on  me,  cryed 
Mr  Higginson,  after  a  little  pause,  and  againe  spring- 
ing round  like  one  of  ye  weird  immages  set  on  quoils 
of  wire,  wherwth  children  play ;  mercie  on  me,  what 
shall  I  doe  ?  My  best  apparell  is  all  spoylt ;  and  O, 
this  cursd  smell,  I  mch  feare  it  will  stick  to  me  these 
manie  dayes  if  indeed  it  doth  not  till  my  dyeing  hour. 
"  Leaveing  all  we  went  toward  ye  hows,  but  he 
remained  without  till  Goodmn  Bennett  bro*  forth  of 
his  owne  apparell  suffytient  wherwth  to  change  ye 
spoyld  garments.  They  were  not,  to  be  shure,  soe 
comelie  as  ye  others,  nor  soe  well  fitting,  Mr  Higgin- 
son being  stoute  and  tall,  and  Goodm"  Bennett,  but 
spare  and  short.  Gaping  spaces  appeard  between  y* 
leather  breeches  and  ye  gray  leggins,  and  ye  shews 
were  adown  at  heele.  But  as  nothing  better  could 
be  had,  he  must  needs  be  content  therewth.  Haueing 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  3! 

heard  it  sayd  yl  cloathes  shd  be  buryed  in  ye  earth  to 
take  away  anie  bad  smel  in  ye  same,  wee  presentlie 
digged  a  grave  nigh  ye  wall,  and  put  them  all  in. 
And  whn  we  return"3  to  ye  hows,  Mr  Higginson  sayd 
it  seemd  like  returning  from  ye  funerall  of  som  old 
freind  at  w*  he  was  cheif  mourner,  he  haueing  bro* 
ye  suit  from  olde  Engld.  Butt  ye  smel  was  not  all 
burryd  wth  ye  cloathes  ;  itt  yet  remained  so  strong 
vpon  ye  poore  man  y*  wee  cd  hardlie  abide  in  y6  room 
wth  him. 

"  After  som  grave  discourse  touching  ye  affaires  of 
ye  Collonie  w°h  on  ye  morrow  wd  be  considered  in  full 
Cote,  and  singing  a  psalm,  we  betook  orselues  to  ye 
rest  we  soe  mch  needed,  our  bed  being  of  clean  and 
sweete  sedge,  sutch  as  a  prince  need  not  dispyse. 

"While  putting  off  our  garments,  I  sayd  to  Mr 
Higginson,  Surelie,  now,  aftr  ye  xperience  we  haue 
had,  y°  will  owne  yl  this  land,  tho  faire  to  look  vpon, 
and  a  lande  of  mch  promis,  as  y°  sayd,  wth  sutch  fervr, 
when  we  went  vppon  ye  rock,  is  still  a  lande  where 
dangers  and  distresses  must  needes  ovrtake  men. 
Yes,  yes,  Simon,  sayd  he,  of  a  truth  we  must  owne 
yt  ye  whole  earth  is  cursd,  and  y*  temptacions  and 
dangers  besett  vs,  in  front  and  rear,  wherevr  we  goe. 
Indeed,  Simon,  godlie  men  will  find  ye  devill,  in  some 
shape,  to  fight,  in  every  place ;  and  they  must  never 
put  their  armour  off.  Was  not  ye  vile  rebel  even  in 
ye  gardn  of  Eden,  where  his  beguilements  bro1  sutch 
disasters  on  vs  all  ?  And  tho  I  doe  still  holde  to  this 
being  a  braive  countrie,  a  trew  land  of  promis,  w°h 
will  one  day  com  to  be  great  among  ye  nations,  and 
wherin  mylk  and  honey  will  freelie  flow,  it  cannot 


32  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

escape  suffering  from  ye  great  curse.  But,  Simon,  I 
am  desperate  weary,  and  would  sleep.  So  we  stop* 
our  discourse  and  layd  downe ;  and  presentlie  ye 
musick  began  to  sounde  from  his  great  warty  nose  as 
loudlie  as  it  sounded  from  his  lipps  befour,  in  ye  use 
of  ye  psalm. 

"  About  midnight  a  horrid  yell  from  Mr  Higginson, 
wth  ye  prophane  wordes,  O  ye  cursd  snake,  raysed  ye 
whole  hows.  And  whn  he  was  awaked  and  we  prest 
him  to  tell  vs  of  ye  paynes  or  fright  w*  made  him  soe 
cry  out,  he  sayd  it  was  but  a  dream,  about  ye  serpent 
w**  I  had  smitten  on  our  way ;  yl  he  dreamd  we  had 
arrivd  near  ye  Cote,  whn  feeling  something,  he  did 
look  behinde  and  spy  ye  vile  impe  hanging  like  a 
vipr  from  ye  lower  parte  of  his  garment ;  and  in 
great  fright  he  soe  cryd  out  as  to  arouse  ye  whole  of 
vs.  Bvt  he  askd  pardon,  and  sayd  he  hoped  not  to 
disturb  vs  again.  Being  thus  releived,  we  presentlie 
returned  to  our  sleep.  But  I  was  again  awakd  by 
Mr  Higginson,  who  seizd  me  WA  mch  violence  in  his 
armes  and  kisd  me  wth  great  fervour  on  y6  forehead, 
saying,  O,  my  preservr,  thou  hast  indeed  overcome 
ye  evill  one.  What,  what,  doth  possess  y°  ?  cryd  I, 
rousing  him  ;  do  ye  terrours  and  weariness  of  ye  day 
so  disturbe  yr  rest  ?  O,  Simon,  Simon,  sayd  he,  I 
again  dreamd  of  yl  wicked  snake.  I  was  just  entring 
ye  Corte,  and  there  he  was  quoiled  in  y«  path  and 
about  to  spring  vpon  me,  whn  there  flew  downe  a 
beauteous  bird  at  sight  of  wch  y*  serpent  seemd  powr- 
less.  And  y*  bird  put  hir  foot  vpon  ye  head  of  y* 
serpent  and  held  it  fast  to  ye  earth.  I  gazed  in  won- 
der, and  my  wonder  grew,  as  ye  bird,  w^  was  more 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  33 

beauteous  than  I  can  describe,  began  to  utter  fourth 
ye  same  touching  notes  w^  y6  Indjan  mayd  sang  to 
vs  on  our  way.  I  could  not  take  my  eyes  from  ye 
bird  ;  and  straightway  it  began  to  change,  and  change, 
till  ye  Indjan  girle  stood  fourth  in  all  hir  lively  grace, 
wth  hir  proud  foote  vpon  ye  slimy  head.  I  but  sprang 
forwd  to  embrace  hir,  my  delivrr,  whn  I  awoke.  Simon, 
I  doe  beleive  yl  to  be  a  good  omen.  So,  do  I,  Mastr 
Higginson,  sayd  I,  and  som  day  y°  may  change  yr 
notion  ab'  women  being  sutch  deludours,  and  may 
likewise  ask  my  pardon  for  makeing  my  ribbs  sore 
by  punches  wth  yr  staff  whn  pressing  yr  doctrine. 
But  I  W1  haue  a  little  more  sleep,  for  ye  night  is  fan- 
spent,  and  we  indeed  need  all  ye  rest  we  can  get. 
He  turnd  ouer  and  was  soon  snoring  braivelie  again. 
I  alsoe  slept  well,  not  wakeing  til  ye  day  had  well 
broken. 

"  Wee  were  stirring  betimes,  and  ye  goodwyfe  had 
a  lustcous  meale  readie,  wherof  we  partook  wth  greedi- 
ness. Haveing  seen  nothing  like  it  befour,  I  wd  faine 
haue  hir  informe  me  in  what  manner  ye  daintie  dish 
was  prepard,  and  of  what  substance.  She  sayd  it  was 
what  she  calld  hastie-pudding,  y'  is,  a  pudding  made 
in  a  hastie  manner ;  and  it  was  made  in  this  wise,  as 
ye  Indjan  mayd  Sunny  Wave  had  taught  hir,  a  few 
weeks  befour,  whn  she  and  hir  fathr  calld,  to  beg  som 
food,  haveing  been  oVtaken  by  night  far  from  their 
lodge.  First,  sayd  she,  a  kettle  of  clean  water  is  put 
on  ye  fire  and  set  boyling ;  then  is  mixt,  in  a  gourd, 
wth  cold  water,  soe  mch  Indjan  corne  meale  as  will 
thicken  ye  boyling  watr  to  a  pudding,  v^  being  turnd 
into  ye  kettle,  and  keppt  boyling  a  few  minnutes,  a 
B*  3 


34  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

little  sault  being  sturred  in,  it  is  don.  And  she  sayd 
it  was  sometymes  eaten  wth  milk,  and  sometymes  wth 
sweet  maple  sapp  spread  vpon  it ;  as  one  might  chuse  ; 
children  espetially  loveing  it  abov  most  othr  meat, 
and  growing  fat  vpon  it.  Wee  tryed  it  both  wayes, 
and  found  it  right  toothsom  ;  and  as  it  must  be  both 
wholsom  and  cheep,  I  doubt  not  yl  it  will  mch  prevail. 
Mr  Higginson  sayd  yi  he  would  like  mch  to  take  som 
to  ye  Cote  to  show  ye  members  were  it  not  for  y° 
difficultys  of  carrying. 

"  Whn  ye  meale  was  ended,  and  our  thankes  giuen, 
we  made  readie  to  resume  or  way.  Ye  dame  wd  haue 
vs  take  a  store  of  hir  corne  cake  and  dryed  bear  meat 
for  our  refreshm*  by  y6  way,  and  sayd  shee  was  right 
sorrie  shee  had  nothing  wherwth  to  replenish  our  kegg, 
save  onlie  hir  poor  beere  w**  she  was  ashamd  to  offer. 
Ye  sorrie  plight  of  Mr  Higginson  called  fourth  some 
merriment  vpon  him,  w011  he  took  in  good  parte.  In- 
deed, tho  he  did  make  but  a  diverting  figure,  in  his 
ill-fitting  garmnts,  it  was  unseemlie  to  laff,  considring 
y6  disaster  y4  occationed  his  being  soe  bedeckd.  Butt 
he  braivelie  sayd  y*  he  wd  goe  to  ye  Corte  and  doe  his 
duty  there  evn  tho  he  shd  haue  to  goe  in  that  unseem- 
lie plight. 

"  Bidding  our  hospittable  entertayners  fairwell,  wee 
betook  orselues  to  our  way,  and  fetching  a  compass 
about  ye  ceder  hills  soone  came  to  ye  fording  place 
of  y*  ryvr  of  Sawgust.  Here  Mr  Higginson  must 
needes  tarry  somewh*,  searching  among  y6  bushes 
on  y6  fenny  border  for  herbes  sutch  as  might  be  used 
in  yc  cureing  of  diseases,  he  haueing  bin  apprenticed 
to  a  London  physicion,  when  a  youth,  and  thinking 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  35 

y1  he  knew  mch  of  ye  doctor  his  arte.  And  tho  I  did 
often  certifie  him,  wth  som  impacience,  y1  we  had  noe 
tyme  to  lose  in  loyfing,  he  would  haue  his  owne  way, 
saying  y*  it  was  ill  in  me  to  call  loyfing  what  might 
prove  of  mch  bennefyt  in  ye  discoVing  of  something 
potent  in  ye  releif  of  paynes.  And  hee  gathrd  a  big 
bvndle  of  stems  and  dirtie  rootes,  saying  yl  he  would 
leave  ym  at  som  habbittacion  on  ye  roade,  to  be  takn 
on  his  returne. 

"  Fordeing  y*  ryvr  wee  did  yn  dillygentlie  pursue 
our  way,  and  wthout  furthr  disaster  or  advenf  arrived 
att  Trimountaine,  vfh  ye  Corte  hath  this  yeare  ordered 
shall  hencfourth  bee  called  Bostown,  crossing  ye  ryvr 
in  an  Indjan  canoe  wch  Arrow  John  had  readie  there, 
he  saying  y1  he  wd  help  ye  white  men  in  ye  beginning 
of  yr  Talk,  and  hoped  they  wd  doe  nothing  against  ye 
comforts  and  rights  of  ye  Indjans.  Wee  tarried  a 
space  among  ye  trees,  befour  comeing  into  ye  cote 
howse,  y*  we  might  recovr  somewh1  from  or  weariness. 
And  sitting  downe  on  a  rock,  wee  ate  y6  remainder 
of  ye  savoury  meat  whrwth  Goodwyf  Bennett  had  sup- 
plied vs,  and  refreshd  orselues  by  draughts  from  ye 
spring  by  ye  rock. 

"  But  presentlie  heareing  loude  calls  and  a  home 
blown  and  drum  beat,  as  we  surmizd  to  advertise  all 
y1  ye  busines  was  aboute  to  beginn,  we  made  readie 
to  goe  in.  Butt  as  Mr  Higginson  stept  ahead  I  was 
shockd  to  see  a  gaping  rent  in  his  clothes,  so  that 
parts  of  his  vnder  garment  were  exposd.  I  hastily 
informd  him  thereof,  and  he  cried  out,  w'h  much 
concerne,  Bless  me,  bless  me.  O,  Simon,  Simon, 
what  on  earth  shall  I  doe  now.  O,  that  pestigeous 


36  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

chuck  ;  but  I  am  glad  to  be  certifyed  of  y*  unseemlie 
appearance  ;  and  it  doth  remind  me  of  my  dream  on 
ye  last  night.  I  will  tuck  it  in,  wth  care,  and  now 
and  then  give  attention  to  ye  partes  lest  it  should 
again  appeare  and  cause  merryment  vpon  me  in  ye 
Corte.  Bvt  O,  Simon,  Simon,  what  a  figure  I  doe 
make  in  these  coarse,  ragged,  and  ill-fitting  garments, 
to  whl  I  did  in  my  owne  daintie  apparrell.  Hee 
moreouer  sayd  hee  feared  y*  som  might  be  there  who, 
tho  olde  freinds,  wd  not  care  to  know  him  in  sutch 
plight ;  bvt  goe  hee  wd,  and  doe  his  dutie.  Butt  hee 
sayd  hee  wd  see  to  it,  and  sit  as  mch  as  possyble  in 
som  corner,  makeing  his  voyce  heard,  if  need  be,  bvt 
being  little  scene.  Bvt  I  think  he  forgot  this  good 
resolv,  for  he  soone  seemd  to  take  mch  vpon  himselfe, 
in  Cote,  rising  often  to  propound  matters  and  bobing 
abovt  from  place  to  place.  And  I  was  mch  disturbd 
at  tymes  to  see  membrs  whn  they  came  nigh  him  hold 
their  noses  and  snuffle  as  if  som  horrible  smell  was 
vpon  ym,  and  look  abovt  to  finde  whl  it  was.  And 
whn  hee  mov4  about,  manie  noses  wd  be  graspd.  Bvtt 
more  yn  all  I  was  alarmd  at  seeing  him  so  neglect 
his  ragged  garment.  Divers  members,  descrying  his 
unseemlie  rig,  did  make  merrie ;  whereupon  wlh  mch 
warmth  he  bade  ym  look  some  othr  way,  and  saying 
y4  hee  wd  follow  dutie  rather  than  fash" ;  and  yl  it 
wd  better  becom  some  membrs  to  haue  an  eye  in 
ye  same  direcion. 

Having  now  brought  our  two  members  through  all 
perils  and  dangers  safely  to  the  Court,  it  seems  un- 
necessary to  extract  further  from  Mr.  Pinion.  Not 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  3/ 

much  of  really  commanding  interest  or  importance 
occurred  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Court,  that  day, 
the  time  being  chiefly  occupied  in  sorting  out  and 
dovetailing  dry  principles  and  details  and  arranging 
what  may  be  styled  the  exterior  appointments.  The 
Court  of  Assistants  had  held  several  terms  at  Charles- 
town,  before  this,  and  pretty  well  regulated  such  mat- 
ters as  required  immediate  attention.  The  discussions 
were  conducted  in  an  amicable  and  liberal  spirit,  and 
an  earnest  desire  was  manifested  to  establish  affairs 
on  a  firm  and  just  basis.  And  through  the  enlight- 
ened and  pious  endeavors  of  that  assembly,  no  doubt 
some  of  those  heaven-culled  seeds  were  sown,  which 
so  soon  sprang  up  and  have  borne  blessed  fruit  even 
down  to  this  day. 

It  should  be  mentioned,  however,  that  an  evening 
session  was  held,  at  which  occurrences  took  place 
that  go  still  further  to  illustrate  the  perils  and  dis- 
turbances to  which  the  legislators  of  that  day  were 
exposed.  At  this  session,  matters  were  not  conducted 
in  the  dignified  and  formal  manner  that  had  charac- 
terized the  doings  of  the  day.  There  was  rather  an 
interchange  of  social  courtesies  and  congratulations, 
with  free  discussions  on  affairs  in  general.  In  one  or 
two  instances  the  earnestness  ran  so  far  into  person- 
ality as  to  produce  a  bloody  nose  ;  though  on  the 
whole  a  good  measure  of  decorum  prevailed.  Re- 
sorts to  violence  being  happily  unknown  in  legislative 
bodies  in  our  day,  it  is  well  to  remind  the  reader  that 
our  assemblies  are  composed  of  a  select  few,  eminent 
for  virtue  and  wisdom,  while  that  first  Court  was 
composed  of  the  whole  body  of  freemen,  and  of  course 


38  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

embraced  some  of  the  rougher  sort,  who  were  more 
accustomed  to  argue  with  their  fists  than  their  tongues, 
and  that  the  fistic  weapon  is  not  so  much  in  accord- 
ance with  the  taste  of  this  wordy  age.  But  after  all, 
they  had  a  jolly  time  at  this  evening  session. 

The  Colony  House,  as  it  may  be  called  —  for  the 
provincials  had  their  Province  House  and  we  the 
post-revolutionists  have  our  State  House  —  made  an 
attractive  appearance  when  lighted  up  by  numerous 
pine  knots,  several  bushels  of  which  had  been  benev- 
olently furnished  by  the  Indians.  It  was  in  truth  so 
attractive  as  to  draw  the  attention  of  sundry  forest 
denizens  from  their  ordinary  nocturnal  pursuits  and 
induce  them  to  inspect,  and  curiously  inquire  about 
the  erection.  But  the  difficulties  of  language  pre- 
vented a  satisfactory  discussion.  Neither  the  bear, 
the  wolf,  the  fox;  the  woodchuck,  the  whip-poor-will, 
the  owl,  nor  the  little  cricket,  could  at  all  understand 
each  other.  And  there  was  the  demure  animal  that 
shed  his  fragrant  favors  upon  Mr.  Higginson  in  so 
interesting  a  manner,  on  the  evening  of  his  arrival  at 
Mr.  Bennet's  —  he  had  something  to  say  but  could 
not  be  understood ;  and,  moreover,  his  reputation 
was  not  good,  for  several  of  the  others  had  before 
experienced  the  force  of  his  odorous  style  of  argu- 
ment. 

In  the  course  of  the  evening  a  gentlemanly  owl 
seated  himself  on  the  chimney,  and  peering  down  the 
same  with  his  great  round,  glassy  eyes,  uttered  one 
or  two  of  those  unearthly  hoots  which  have  given  him 
a  name  among  the  forest  gentry.  The  assembly  was 
startled,  and  Mr.  Higginson  at  once  declared  that 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  39 

they  must  be  the  howls  of  one  of  the  lurking  devils 
of  whom  he  had  caught  occasional  glimpses  ever  since 
he  left  Salem.  Great  consternation  prevailed  at  this 
suggestion,  though  Mr.  Pinion  and  others  were  for 
ascribing  it  to  some  wild  beast.  The  point  was 
about  to  be  decided  by  vote,  when  a  courageous  indi- 
vidual slipped  out  to  reconnoitre,  and  returned  with 
the  creature  of  offence  flapping  and  floundering  in 
his  brawny  arms.  When  his  birdship's  fears  had  so 
far  subsided  that  his  natural  urbanity  and  docility 
began  to  assume  control  they  took  him  to  a  tempo- 
rary perch  near  the  speaker's  table,  where  he  remained 
with  his  glaring  eyes  as  fixed  as  those  of  a  sphynx, 
one  of  the  gravest  in  the  assembly  —  and  one  of  the 
wisest,  too,  if  silence  is  a  mark  of  wisdom ;  as  it 
certainly  is,  more  surely  than  babbling. 

It  was  getting  rather  late,  when  another  alarm  was 
occasioned  by  a  strange  pushing  and  scratching  at 
the  door.  Some  of  the  more  fearless  insisted  that  it 
must  be  some  one  who  had  been  out,  got  frightened, 
and  was  now  eagerly  searching  for  the  latch-string. 
A  member  who  happened  to  be  near,  seized  one  of 
the  knots  then  in  full  blaze,  and  instantly  threw  open 
the  door.  That  knot,  perhaps,  saved  his  life ;  for  a 
huge  bear,  erect  on  his  hind  legs,  and  holding  on  by 
his  left  claw  to  the  door-post,  presented  himself,  rais- 
ing his  right  paw,  either  to  shake  hands,  or  to  draw 
to  him,  for  an  affectionate  hug,  whoever  might  be 
polite  enough  to  answer  his  call.  The  torch,  however, 
proved  an  effectual  barrier  against  any  extraordinary 
familiarity.  The  others,  instantly  comprehending  the 
condition  of  things,  and  each  seizing  a  flaming  knot, 


4O  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

rushed  toward  the  intruder  and  put  him  to  flight. 
But  his  flight  did  not  save  him,  for  two  or  three 
loaded  muskets  had  been  brought  by  members,  for 
protection  on  the  way,  or  possibly  under  an  apprehen- 
sion that  such  pursuasives  might  come  in  play  during 
the  debates,  and  these  were  grasped  by  ready  hands, 
and  before  poor  bruin  could  make  them  understand 
that  only  a  friendly  call  was  intended,  a  leaden  mes- 
messenger  or  two  had  reached  his  vitals.  And  one 
profitable  result  of  that  evening  session  was  that 
divers  of  the  members  on  their  return  home  took  a 
choice  joint  of  bear-meat. 

The  foregoing  account,  it  need  not  be  repeated, 
relates  to  the  first  General  Court  held  in  the  Colony 
of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  Court  of  Assistants  had, 
however,  as  before  mentioned,  previously  held  several 
sessions,  as  some  matters  required  immediate  atten- 
tion. And  this  seems  to  be  the  proper  place  to  bring 
into  notice  a  few  of  their  proceedings,  which  deserve 
mention  as  a  sort  of  foundation  stones,  indicating 
something  of  the  intended  character  of  the  proposed 
social  and  political  fabric. 

The  very  first  act,  then,  of  the  very  first  Court  held 
in  the  Colony  —  which  was  the  Court  of  Assistants, 
held  in  Charlestown,  August  23,  1630  —  was  to  deter- 
mine "howe  the  ministers  should  be  mayntayned." 
And  it  was  "  ordered,  that  houses  should  be  built  for 
them  with  convenient  speede,  at  the  publique  charge." 
And  on  its  being  "  propounded  what  should  be  their 
present  mayntenance,"  it  was  ordered,  "  that  Mr  Phil- 
lips [Rev.  George  Phillips,  who  came  over  in  the  Ar- 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  4! 

bella  with  Winthrop  and  others,]  should  have  allowed 
him  3  hogsheads  of  meale,  I  hogsh.  of  malte,  4  bush- 
ells  of  Indean  corne,  I  bushell  of  oatemeale,  halfe  an 
hundred  of  salt  fishe ;  for  apparell  and  other  provisions, 
xx^  or  els  to  haue  xF-  giuen  him  in  money  p.  ann.  to 
make  his  owne  prouisions  if  hee  chuse  it  the  rather." 
And  "  Mr  Wilson  [Rev.  John  Wilson,  who  also  came 
over  in  the  Arbella,]  should  have  after  xx^-  p.  ann.  till 
his  wife  come  ouer  ....  all  this  to  be  att  the  comon 
charge,  those  at  Mattapan  &  Salem  onely  exempted." 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  attention  was,  in  the  very 
first  instance,  directed  to  the  care  of  the  ministers  — 
religious  matters  taking  the  lead  of  all  others. 

The  next  thing  after  providing  for  the  ministers 
was  to  provide  for  the  doctor.  "  It  was  propounded 
what  should  be  Mr  Gagers  maintenance."  This  was 
William  Gager,  who  came  over  in  the  fleet  with  Win- 
throp, and  settled  in  Charlestovvn.  He  was  a  "  right 
godly  man  and  a  skillfull  chirurgeon."  And  it  was 
"  ordered  that  hee  should  haue  a  house  builded  him 
against  the  next  spring  ;  is  to  haue  a  cowe  giuen  him, 
&  xx^-  in  money  for  this  yeare,  to  begin  the  2Oth  of 
June,  1630,  &  after,  xxx^-  p.  ann.  All  this  to  be  att 
the  comon  charge."  Mr.  Gager,  however,  died  on  the 
2Oth  of  the  next  September,  much  lamented.  A 
wholesome  detestation  of  medical  quackery  prevailed, 
as  is  abundantly  shown  by  the  recorded  enactments. 
Here  is  an  act  of  the  Court  of  Assistants,  March  i, 
1631  :  "Nich:  Knopp  is  fyned  v'-  for  takeing  vpon 
him  to  cure  the  scurvey  by  a  water  of  noe  worth  nor 
value,  which  he  solde  att  a  very  deare  rate,  to  be 
imprisoned  till  hee  pay  his  ffine,  or  giue  securitye  for 


42  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

it,  or  els  to  bee  whipped,  &  shalbe  lyable  to  any  mans 
accon  of  whome  he  hath  receaued  money  for  the  sd 
water."  Were  such  punishment  awarded  now-a-days 
to  medical  quackery,  probably  that  branch  of  the  fine 
arts  would  not  flourish  so  vigorously. 

Lawyers  appear  to  have  been  overlooked  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  favors  at  this  time.  They  seem  always 
to  have  been  deemed  a  class  either  not  worthy  of 
public  protection,  or  else  able  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves. As  I  intend  to  indulge  in  a  few  remarks 
touching  the  legal  profession,  and  the  practitioners 
therein,  in  another  part  of  this  volume,  not  much 
need  be  said  here.  An  honest  lawyer  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  useful  members  of  a  community, 
though  his  sphere  of  duty  lies  in  quite  a  different 
direction  from  that  of  the  minister  or  physician.  All 
three,  however,  are  in  a  certain  sense  doctors  —  the 
minister  practising  among  diseased  souls,  the  physi- 
cian among  diseased  bodies,  and  the  lawyer  among 
diseased  estates.  So  by  the  combined  three,  diseases 
of  soul,  body,  and  estate,  are  provided  for.  Many 
affect  to  look  upon  the  legal  profession  as  a  foster- 
school  of  all  sorts  of  knavery  and  quibbling.  But  it 
is  quite  safe  to  conclude  that  those  who  never  can 
believe  others  to  be  honest  are  themselves  dishonest. 
However,  the  prejudice  against  lawyers,  as  a  body, 
is,  after  all,  but  skin-deep,  for  no  class,  in  fact,  is 
treated  with  greater  respect.  People  are  most  sensi- 
tive about  the  things  they  deem  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance ;  and  we  should  hear  no  more  talk  about 
the  knavery  of  lawyers  than  about  the  knavery  of 
ministers  or  doctors,  were  it  not  that  with  most  peo- 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  43 

pie  the  health  of  the  purse  is  esteemed  above  the 
health  of  soul  or  body.  If  there  is  an  apparent  shade 
of  inconsistency  in  some  of  these  remarks  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  consistency  is  but  a  dim  jewel 
and  should  never  be  suffered  to  out-brazen  truth. 

Though  lawyers  were  overlooked  by  this  early 
Court,  a  little  something  was  done  for  the  judiciary 
by  way  of  orders  respecting  the  holding  of  courts, 
issuing  of  processes,  and  so  forth.  It  was  also  "  or- 
dered that  James  Pen  should  haue  20  nobles  p.  ann. 
&  a  dayes  worke  of  a  man  att  springe,  from  euery 
able  famyly,  to  help  build  his  house  ....  His  im- 
ployment  to  be  as  a  beadle  to  attend  vpon  the  Gounr, 
and  alwaies  to  be  ready  to  execute  his  comands  in 
publique  businesses."  So  far  judicial  matters  were 
attended  to.  And  it  is  not  necessary  now  to  spend 
more  time  with  the  Court  of  Assistants. 


It  is  meet,  before  concluding  this,  in  some  sense 
preliminary  chapter,  to  take  one  step  back,  in  time, 
and  one  stride  to  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  ;  for  it 
was  on  the  I  ith  of  June,  1629,  that  a  "  Genrall  Court" 
for  the  "  Company  of  the  Mattachusetts  Bay  in  New 
England,"  was  held  in  London.  And  this  seems  to 
have  been  the  first  assembly,  under  the  name  of  Gen- 
eral Court,  ever  convened  for  deliberation  on  matters 
pertaining  to  this  then  savage  little  patch  of  the 
Creator's  footstool.  Between  that  date  and  the  time 
of  the  transfer  of  the  colonial  patent  and  government 
to  America,  which  was  the  next  year,  several  other 
sessions  were  held  in  London. 

Returning  from  over  the  water,  it  is  proper  further 


44  !•       HISTORICAL    AND    DESCRIPTIVE. 

to  remind  the  reader  that  down  to  the  year  1634,  the 
whole  body  of  freemen  constituted  the  General  Court. 
But  to  become  a  freeman  it  was  necessary  to  take 
what  was  called  the  freeman's  oath,  an  oath  by  which 
they  bound  themselves  to  be  faithful  subjects  of 
the  commonwealth  —  yielding  assistance  and  support 
thereto  by  person  and  estate  —  endeavoring  to  main- 
tain all  the  liberties  thereof —  submitting  to  its  whole- 
some laws  and  orders  —  avoiding  all  plots  and  evil 
practices  against  it  —  giving  votes  and  suffrages  in 
good  faith  and  under  a  conscientious  endeavor  to 
promote  the  public  weal  —  and  doing  all  "without 
respect  to  persons  or  favor  of  any  man "  —  with 
sundry  other  provisions,  tending  to  the  same  end, 
which  the  loyal  citizens  of  this  day  delight  to  fulfill 
without  the  obligations  of  an  oath. 

There  was  presently,  however,  a  little  hedge  erected 
around  this  freemanship  to  keep  obnoxious  individuals 
from  its  privileges  — •  such  as  a  requisition  for  the 
candidate  to  be  of  fair  moral  character,  and  a  member 
of  some  church  in  good  puritanical  standing.  This 
hedge  was  trimmed  up  a  little,  in  1664,  by  a  royal 
order.  But  the  custom  of  qualifying  freemen  did  not 
fall  into  entire  disuse  before  1689.  Those  who  did 
not  take  the  oath  were  called  residents.  The  age  at 
which  one  was  capacitated  to  take  the  oath  appears 
in  the  following  order,  passed  by  the  Court,  March  4, 
1645  :  "It  is  ordered  that  the  ffreemans  oath  shalbe 
gyven  to  every  man  of  or  above  the  age  of  16  yeares, 
the  clause  for  eleccon  of  magistrates  onely  excepted." 
Among  the  chief  incidents  to  the  position  of  freeman, 
was  the  right  to  hold  office  and  vote  for  rulers.  And 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  45 

inasmuch  as  it  is  found  that  many  worthy  individuals 
did  not  take  the  oath,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  people  were  not  then  so  ravenous  for  office  as 
they  now  are  ;  perhaps  because  the  emoluments  were 
not  so  tempting  or  the  prospect  for  successful  pecula- 
tion not  so  promising.  The  government  was  then 
but  an  unfledged  gosling,  and  many  years  were 
required  for  it  to  become  the  fat  goose  we  now  find 
it,  so  inviting  to  the  numerous  enterprising  hands 
thrust  out  to  pluck  a  golden  feather  or  two. 

The  whole  body  of  freemen,  being  members  of  the 
General  Court,  were  required  to  repair  to  Boston,  as 
the  stated  terms  came  round,  to  attend  to  their  duties, 
which  took  an  amazingly  wide  range,  embracing,  in 
fact,  the  electoral,  legislative,  judicial,  and  a  savor  of 
the  executive.  But  even  as  early  as  1634  it  was 
found  quite  inconvenient  to  have  all  the  freemen 
attend  together.  The  number  was  now  so  great  that 
it  was  difficult  to  find  suitable  accommodations.  True, 
in  pleasant  weather  the  sessions  might  be  held  in  the 
open  air,  after  the  manner  of  the  Icelandic  councils  ; 
but  stormy  weather  and  cold  would  come,  notwith- 
standing the  fixed  order  of  the  Court  that  all  the 
ministers  should,  for  three  successive  Sundays  imme- 
diately preceding  each  of  the  regular  sessions,  pray 
for  serene  skies. 

Another  thing  that  rendered  the  assembling  of  all 
the  freemen  inconvenient,  was  that  some,  disregard- 
ing their  oaths,  and  having  no  respect  for  themselves 
or  tenderness  for  the  honor  of  the  community  of  which 
they  were  members,  would  get  boosy,  and  stir  up 
mischief  generally,  to  the  great  scandal  of  their  con- 


46  I.       HISTORICAL   AND    DESCRIPTIVE. 

stituents  and  evil  example  to  their  virtuous  Indian 
neighbors.  Others,  whose  love  of  fun  overbalanced 
all  their  other  good  qualities,  without  any  apparent 
appreciation  of  their  responsibilities,  would  go  in  for 
a  jolly  time,  by  a  spontaneous  movement,  converting 
the  proceedings  into  a  mere  mockery  ;  so  that  half  a 
session  might  be  spent  in  a  hilarious  jumble,  such  as 
the  dignified  legislators  of  our  day  would  scorn  to 
countenance,  even  during  the  expiring  moments  of  a 
protracted  term.  Fun  is  good  enough  in  its  place  ; 
but  it  is  apt  to  get  the  upper  hand  of  those  who  give 
it  encouragement ;  and  your  funny  legislator  is  simply 
a  bore  and  an  unfaithful  servant  of  his  constituency. 

It  is  apparent,  after  all  that  may  be  said  in  favor 
of  a  general  representation,  that  where  a  few  are 
chosen  to  represent  the  many,  those  few  are  usually 
respectable  —  eminent,  perhaps  —  as  the  reader  may 
determine  for  himself,  by  looking  around  among  such 
of  his  neighbors  as  have  been  made  representatives. 
One  thing,  certainly,  is  quite  evident  and  that  is, 
that  if  in  representation  by  the  few  you  do  not  happen 
to  get  the  best,  you  are  pretty  sure  not  to  get  the 
worst ;  whereas,  if  you  have  the  whole  you  are  sure 
to  have  the  worst.  I  know  very  well,  that  the  greater 
the  number  the  more  difficult  it  is  for  wire-pullers  to 
manage  their  muffled  strings.  But  we  need  entertain 
no  apprehensions  on  that  .score  in  this  virtuous  age 
when  the  villanies  of  wire-pulling  are  unknown. 

In  1634,  then,  the  election  of  Deputies,  or  Repre- 
sentatives, by  the  several  settlements,  was  resorted 
to.  And  that  year  the  General  Court  consisted  of 
the  Governor,  Deputy  Governor,  six  Assistants  —  or 


I.      HISTORICAL  AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  4/ 

Counsellors,  as  the  latter  were  sometimes  called, 
though  their  sphere  of  duty  took  a  wider  range  than 
that  of  the  Counsellors  of  later  date,  embracing  con- 
siderable of  the  judicial  element  —  and  twenty-four 
Representatives.  Boston,  Cambridge,  Charlestown, 
Dorchester,  Lynn,  Roxbury,  Salem,  and  Watertown, 
were  each  represented  by  three  men,  good  and  true, 
chosen  by  their  respective  freemen ;  all  of  acknow- 
ledged piety  and  gravity  of  character  —  the  genuine 
gravity,  arising  from  a  just  appreciation  of  responsibil- 
ity, and  not  that  now  very  common  kind  arising  from 
mere  brain-laziness.  And  what  a  cozy  little  General 
Court  that  must  have  been. 

It  may  not  be  untenable  to  assume  that  in  the 
history  of  the  General  Court  of  our  beloved  old  Com- 
monwealth, is  embodied  a  history  of  the  progress  of 
civil  liberty  and  enlightened  legislation  in  this  blissful 
land.  The  development  of  some  of  the  most  precious 
of  the  great  principles  which  elevate  the  individual  as 
well  as  aggrandize  the  collective  body,  may  assuredly 
be  traced,  step  by  step,  in  the  doings  of  that  sturdy 
assembly.  Yet  there  were  many  apparently  absurd, 
oppressive,  and  dangerous  enactments  in  the  early 
days  —  unaccountable  lapses  and  deviations.  It  is 
fashionable  with  many  to  hold  up  to  ridicule  the 
quaint  orders  and  appointments  of  the  early  sessions. 
But  if  our  modern  legislation  were  always  as  sensible, 
direct,  and  well  adapted  to  the  end  in  view,  as  was 
that  of  the  ancients,  the  disparaging  epithets  would 
be  more  seemly.  And  it  is  fashionable  with  others  to 
give  a  very  bad  name  to  the  industrious,  economical, 


48  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

and  modest  bodies  that  now  annually  convene  in  the 
domed  edifice  on  Beacon  hill.  Both  classes  must  be 
left  to  determine  for  themselves  whether  the  ancient 
or  modern  legislators  have  the  best  title  to  be  called 
honest,  able,  and  patriotic.  This,  however,  may  be 
said  —  that  strife  for  personal  aggrandizement  and 
mere  party  ends,  has  at  times  made  sad  havoc  with 
the  noblest  principles  and  most  sacred  trusts.  And, 
hit  where  it  will,  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to 
here  quote  a  brief  compliment  paid  by  the  venerable 
Dr.  Chauncey  to  the  Legislature  in  1747,  a  period 
about  midway  between  the  ancient  and  modern  of  our 
legislative  history :  "  If  I  wanted  to  initiate  and  in- 
struct a  person  in  all  kinds  of  iniquity  and  double- 
dealing,  I  would  send  him  to  the  General  Court." 

It  is  not  my  purpose  in  this  volume  to  attempt  to 
trace  the  development  of  principles  so  much  as  to 
illustrate  the  condition  of  things.  And  I  consider 
myself  free  to  adopt  just  such  a  course  of  remark 
and  style  of  elucidation  as  seem  best  suited  to  the 
purpose.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  reader  will 
find,  as  he  proceeds,  in  singular  or  even  grotesque 
association  some  names  that  he  has  been  accustomed 
to  find  associated  only  with  transactions  the  most 
dignified  and  weighty.  Some  of  the  old  worthies 
whom  he  has  been  wont  to  behold  only  in  their  flow- 
ing wigs  and  robes  of  state,  he  may  s*ee  appear  in 
their  meaner  habiliments.  But  he  will  remember 
that  all  have  their  every-day  side,  which,  indeed,  is 
the  most  natural,  and  for  our  purpose  may  often  prove 
the  most  useful.  John  Endicott,  for  instance,  was  as 
much  John  Endicott  in  his  homespun  raiment  and 


I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE.  49 

with  his  sunburnt  arms  loaded  with  dried  cod-fish,  as 
he  was  in  his  velvet  skull-cap,  big  wig,  broad  ruffles, 
and  embroidered  gloves  —  if,  indeed,  he  and  divers 
others  of  the  colonial  worthies  were  not  indebted  to 
the  generosity  of  the  painter  for  much  of  the  courtly 
apparel  in  which  they  are  made  to  shine  on  canvas 
to  the  awe  of  little  legislators  and  the  admiration  of 
their  own  posterity.  The  honest  art  of  photography, 
that  uncorruptible  revealer  of  warty  noses  and  sinister 
eyes  had  not  been  discovered. 

It  would  be  highly  desirable  to  present  the  reader 
with  a  pictorial  illustration  of  the  ancient  assembly  to 
which  this  chapter  chiefly  relates  —  the  first  General 
Court  in  the  Bay  Colony — all  in  their  ancient  costume 
and  ancient  surroundings.  I  fully  appreciate  the  want, 
and  readily  promise  that  in  a  future  edition  it  shall  be 
supplied  should  the  sale  of  this  prove  sufficiently 
remunerative.  A  proper  reverence  for  ancestors  has 
always,  even  among  barbarous  people,  been  consid- 
ered a  most  valuable  trait  of  character ;  and  he  who 
has  no  respect  for  his  ancestry  has  no  claim  to  the 
respect  of  posterity.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  the 
blessed  art  of  photography,  just  referred  to,  had  not 
been  discovered  when  this  Court  convened,  for  had  it 
been,  we  perhaps  might  now  be  in  possession  of  the 
very  ghosts  of  those  legislative  fathers,  marshalled  in 
artistic  array  upon  the  sunny  side  of  their  shabby 
little  council-house,  or  ranged  on  the  oaken  benches 
of  the  interior,  with  perhaps  the  Indian  chief  Arrow 
John  in  the  back-ground,  and  the  beaming  little 
Sunny  Wave  by  his  side ;  he  looking  on  in  impassive 
c  4 


5O  I.      HISTORICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

seriousness,  and  she  radiant  with  mirthful  curiosity. 
Perhaps,  likewise,  somewhere  in  the  distance  the 
frowning  windmill  might  appear,  with  its  red  cap  and 
broad  arms,  a  terror  to  all  evil-disposed  Indians,  who 
imagined  it  to  be  some  terrible  engine  of  war.  And 
there,  too,  a  pile  of  the  salted  cod-fish  lying  by  the 
picturesque  flakes,  might,  perchance,  be  seen.  Nat- 
uralists declare  that  fish  diet  makes  brains  ;  and  by 
that,  possibly,  we  may  account  for  the  fact  that  our 
fathers  were  so  liberally  endowed  in  their  intellectual 
head  quarters.  And  by  the  same  token  it  may  be 
suggested  that  some  of  those  who  are  now-a-days 
elected  to  seats  in  our  legislative  hall,  and  in  their 
spare  moments  reverently  twist  their  necks  to  con- 
template the  piscine  image  there  suspended,  would  be 
benefitted  by  giving  heed  to  this  important  declara- 
tion of  the  naturalists.  I  do  not  know  what  particular 
effect  the  salt  may  have,  though  it  may  form  a  sea- 
soning and  preserving  deposit,  as  we  sometimes  hear 
favorable  mention  of  "  attic  salt." 


CHAPTER  II. 


SHINING    LIGHTS. 

JOHN   HUMFREY. 

ONE  of  the  most  energetic  and  useful  members 
of  the  Court  in  its  infant  days,  was  JOHN 
HUMFREY.  All  who  have  had  occasion  to  peruse 
the  Colony  Records,  or  who,  indeed,  have  become 
in  any  way  acquainted  with  the  early  history  of 
Massachusetts,  are  familiar  with  his  name.  He  took 
a  lively  interest  in  the  establishment  of  the  Colony, 
and  was  an  original  member  and  treasurer  of  the 
Company.  Before  the  government  and  patent  were 
removed  to  America,  he  was  chosen  Deputy  Govern- 
or ;  but  the  records  of  the  Court  of  Assistants  held 
on  board  the  Arbella,  March  23,  1629,  just  before  she 
sailed  with  the  company  of  settlers,  state  that  he, 
"  in  regard  hee  was  to  stay  behinde  in  England  was 
discharged  of  his  Deputy-shipp  &  Mr  Thomas  Dudley 
chosen  Deputy  in  his  place." 

Mr.  Humfrey  was  a  native  of  Dorchester,  belonged 
to  a  good  family,  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and 
possessed  a  considerable  estate.  He  arrived  here 
early  in  the  summer  of  1634,  and  immediately  located 
on  what  is  now  the  east  side  of  Nahant  street,  in 

(SO 


52  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

Lynn,  a  pleasant  thoroughfare  which  leads  directly  on 
to  the  beautiful  beach,  that  remarkable  line  of  com- 
pact sand,  which,  like  a  glittering  cable  holds  Nahant 
fast-bound  to  the  main  land  ;  a  vicinity  which  has 
now  become  a  favorite  point  of  attraction  to  the  lover 
of  nature,  by  its  glowing  scenery,  landscape  and  ma- 
rine, and  by  its  curious  deposits.  And  the  invigora- 
ting breezes  and  renovating  waters  of  that  charming 
locality  render  it  peculiarly  grateful  to  the  languishing 
in  health. 

The  Court  had  made  Mr.  Humfrey  a  considerable 
grant  of  land  in  this  neighborhood,  and  here  he  estab- 
lished his  farm.  He  brought  with  him  divers  valuable 
presents  for  the  settlers  ;  among  them  fifteen  heifers, 
the  gift  of  Richard  Andrews,  an  alderman  of  London  ; 
one  for  each  of  the  eight  ministers,  and  the  remaining 
seven  for  the  poor.  He  likewise  brought  guns  and 
ammunition  for  the  public  defense.  Also  some  cate- 
chisms. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival,  Mr.  Humfrey's  ser- 
vices were  required  in  the  General  Court.  He  was 
called  to  the  responsible  and  honorable  position  of 
Assistant,  and  continued  in  office  as  long  as  he  re- 
mained in  the  country.  He  was  a  shining  light  of  the 
Court ;  highly  efficient,  and  much  esteemed  for  his 
affability  and  respected  for  his  acquirements.  Quite 
large  donations  were  made  to  him  in  acknowledgment 
of  his  public  services.  Among  the  gifts  of  extensive 
tracts  of  land,  he  received  many  acres  along  the  shores 
of  Swampscott ;  acres  which  are  now  of  great  value 
as  sites  for  the  villas  and  cottages  of  the  children  of 
fortune  who,  during  the  warm  season,  resort  in  great 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  53 

numbers  to  that  beautiful  vicinage  which  is  among  the 
most  charming  on  the  whole  American  coast.  He 
also  received  a  grant  of  that  lovely  sheet  of  water, 
still  known  as  "  Humfrey's  Pond,"  which  nestles  so 
quietly  among  the  green  hills,  some  half  a  dozen 
miles  inland,  upon  the  border  of  Peabody.  These 
things  show  that  Mr.  Humfrey  was  held  in  high  esti- 
mation. But  he  was  an  ambitious  man,  and  we  must 
believe,  destitute  of  that  moral  heroism  which  recoils 
at  no  demand  of  duty,  and  meets,  undismayed,  the 
sterner  severities  of  fortune.  A  restless  desire  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  lordly  families  seems  not  to  have 
been  uncommon  among  those  who  emigrated  to  New 
England  at  that  period  —  if,  indeed,  the  desire  is  not 
a  characteristic  of  the  English  mind  at  all  times  — 
and  hence  the  grants  of  lands  and  immunities  were 
much  coveted.  It  is  not  easy  to  divest  the  mind  of  the 
belief  that  Mr.  Humfrey  started  with  some  such  am- 
bitious yearning ;  and  when  the  disasters  to  his  fortune 
occurred,  and  the  terrible  domestic  calamities  over- 
took him  —  when  all  his  bright  hopes  had  been  extin- 
guished— he  was  miserable  indeed.  His  lamentations 
over  his  ruin  were  deep  and  extremely  touching  ;  but 
the  most  proud  and  self-sufficient,  under  the  heavier 
strokes  of  adversity,  often  become  softened  and  sen- 
timental. 

That  Mr.  Humfrey  possessed  a  benevolent  heart 
and  generous  hand  cannot  be  denied.  Nor  can  we 
doubt  that  he  had  a  true  parental  anxiety  for  the 
welfare  of  his  offspring.  But  yet  there  is  something 
mysterious  connected  with  his  affecting  family  history. 
It  seems  impossible  to  justify  that  lack  of  common 


54  H.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

watchfulness  over  his  little  ones  which  under  all 
ordinary  circumstances  must  have  detected  the  villa- 
nies  committed  almost  beneath  his  own  roof,  and 
continued  over  many  months.  Winthrop,  indeed, 
speaks  of  him  as  having  "  much  neglected  his  chil- 
dren, leaving  them  among  a  company  of  rude  serv- 
ants." And  how  can  we  justify  his  leaving  his  little 
daughters  as  he  did  when  he  returned  to  England  — 
deserting  them,  in  fact.  Much,  no  doubt,  is  to  be 
attributed  to  the  inconsiderate  longings  of  his  home- 
sick wife.  But  the  unreasonable  importunities  of  a 
homesick  or  otherwise  afflicted  wife  ought  not  to 
have  driven  him  from  his  stern  duties  to  his  children. 

A  man  may  possess  many  excellent  traits  and  yet 
be  very  far  from  a  perfect  character.  And  while  it 
is  quite  apparent  that  Mr.  Humfrey  has  never  been 
duly  honored  in  history  for  his  eminent  public  ser- 
vices, for  his  labors  and  sacrifices  in  behalf  of  the 
infant  Bay  Colony,  it  is  also  quite  apparent  that  he 
cannot  be  pointed  to  as  one  worthy  of  imitation  in  all 
respects. 

Mr.  Humfrey  was  something  of  a  military  man. 
As  early  as  1635,  the  year  after  his  arrival,  he  was 
appointed  by  the  Court  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  military  affairs,  which  body  consisted  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  six  other  first  class  dignitaries,  it  being  a 
committee  of  real  importance.  In  the  great  Pequot 
war  he  took  a  deep  interest,  though  he  was  not  actively 
engaged  in  any  campaign  ;  and  there  is  extant  a  let- 
ter of  his,  to  Governor  Winthrop,  written  after  some 
material  successes  of  the  colonial  soldiery,  which 
indicates  such  a  sense  of  the  rights  of  the  Indians, 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  55 

and  such  a  broad  spirit  of  humanity,  that  we  must 
lament  that  views  like  his  did  not  more  generally 
prevail.  In  1640  he  became  a  member  of  what  is 
now  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery.  And  in 
June,  1641,  the  Court  appointed  him  sergeant  major 
general,  and  gave  him  command  of  all  the  militia  in 
the  county. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  as  a  member  of  the 
Court  Mr.  Humfrey  was  highly  esteemed ;  and  very 
few  were  more  influential ;  yet  it  is  found  that  in 
J635,  by  the  Court  of  Assistants,  he  was  "ffined 
xs-  for  his  absence  from  ye  Court."  This  fine,  how- 
ever, was  remitted  by  the  General  Court,  in  1638  — 
a  singularly  long  time,  by  the  way,  after  it  was  im- 
posed —  though  they,  in  their  turn,  fined  him,  during 
the  same  year,  five  shillings,  for  "  absence  when  the 
Court  was  called."  These  facts  show  that  the  Court 
required  that  members,  whatever  their  condition  or 
inclinations,  should  be  at  the  post  of  duty.  Could 
examples  shine  retrospectively  it  might  be  concluded 
that  the  industry  and  promptness  of  our  legislators  had 
exerted  a  happy  influence.  But  worse  than  all,  some 
slanderers  have  declared  that  if  half  the  members  of 
the  legislature,  as  it  has  of  late  years  been  composed, 
would  keep  away  half  the  time,  they  would  do  more 
to  advance  the  public  interest  than  they  could  possi- 
bly do  in  any  other  way.  Out  upon  such  unsavory 
vilifiers. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  Mr.  Humfrey  was  no  great 
of  an  orator,  as  I  find  Mr.  Pinion  saying,  "  lohn  Bloud 
was  censurd  to  stand  two  houres  in  y6  pillowrie  for 
saying  in  ye  presence  of  sevrl  yl  hee  wd  as  leave  heare 


$6  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

Mr  Humfree  his  wind-mill  creake,  as  to  heare  himselfe 
speake,  itt  being  yl  to  his  eares  a  creake  was  as  good 
as  a  wheeze."  I  hope  he  did  not  have  the  asthma 
added  to  his  other  afflictions.  If  he  had,  and  John 
Blood  intended  to  twit  him  of  it,  he  ought  to  have 
had  his  ears  nailed  to  the  pillory.  But  no  matter  if 
Mr.  Humfrey  was  not  an  orator ;  he  certainly  had 
great  influence  in  the  debates.  The  orators  are  not 
usually  the  most  influential  members  of  deliberative 
assemblies  —  far  from  it.  A  clear  and  simple  state- 
ment, no  matter  if  it  is  a  little  halting,  backed  by 
good  common  sense  and  a  comprehensive  view  of  the 
subject,  accomplishes  more  than  all  your  pyrotechnic 
oratory ;  for  the  wordy  attraction  is  itself  liable  to 
draw  the  minds  of  the  listeners  from  the  subject  to 
the  speaker ;  and  when  he  is  done,  where  are  they  — 
the  generality  of  such  as  compose  our  legislatures. 

If  the  few  glimpses  that  have  been  given  of  the 
disposition  and  experiences  of  Mr.  Humfrey  be  true, 
the  conclusion  would  follow  that  he  was  one  who 
could  not  have  much  enjoyed  life.  Defeated  ambition 
and  wounded  pride  ;  the  loss  of  worldly  substance 
and  domestic  affliction,  altogether,  must  have  imposed 
a  grievous  burden  upon  him ;  and  nothing  but  a  strong 
Christian  faith  could  have  sustained  him.  Among  his 
disappointments  was  that  of  seeing  the  youthful  Vane 
take  precedence  of  him  as  governor  of  the  Colony ; 
and  then  came  the  frustration  of  his  hopes  of  a  gov- 
ernorship in  the  West  Indies.  Indeed  most  of  his 
higher  political  aspirations  seem  to  have  miscarried  ; 
nor  in  his  great  business  projects  does  he  seem  to 
have  been  more  successful.  He  certainly  would  have 


JOHN   HUMFREY.  57 

been  justly  entitled  to  be  called  an  unfortunate  man, 
even  had  a  kind  providence  not  required  him  to  drink 
so  deeply  of  the  cup  of  domestic  affliction. 

Mr.  Humfrey's  wife  was  Lady  Susan,  the  second 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  and  was,  I  am  in- 
clined to  think,  not  of  the  highest  order  of  female 
excellence.  It  is  evident  that  she  became  intensely 
homesick  soon  after  her  arrival  here,  and  sighed  for  a 
return  to  the  elegances  of  the  life  in  which  she  had 
been  bred.  It  can  readily  be  imagined  that  the  con- 
trast between  the  scenes  in  which  she  had  been 
nurtured  and  those  by  which  she  was  encompassed 
on  these  bleak  shores,  was  not  calculated  to  inspire  a 
very  high  appreciation  of  the  present  or  pleasing 
anticipation  of  the  future.  She  had  come  from  the 
abode  of  refinement  and  luxury  into  an  inhospitable 
wilderness.  The  climate  was  rigorous,  the  soil  unsub- 
dued. Around  her  rude  habitation  the  savage  lurked 
and  the  wild  beast  howled.  She  longed  for  the  society 
of  those  she  had  been  accustomed  to  meet  in  the  sweet 
companionship  of  social  life,  and  was  almost  entirely 
deprived  of  any  opportunity  for  an  interchange  of  the 
common  sympathies  and  civilities  that  every  refined 
heart  so  craves.  It  is  not  therefore  to  be  wondered 
at  that  when  from  the  door-stone  of  her  humble  home 
she  looked  out  upon  the  bright  rolling  sea,  beyond 
which  lay  the  brighter  home  of  her  earlier  days,  she 
should  feel  lonely  and  sad.  But  nothing  can  afford 
a  justification  of  her  making  her  husband's  home 
miserable.  And  her  hasty  departure,  leaving  her 
ill-fated  offspring  to  the  rigors  of  a  cold  world,  can 
hardly  admit  of  any  possible  excuse.  Allowing  that 


58  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

she  did,  as  Mather  says,  belong  to  "  the  best  family 
of  any  nobleman  then  in  England,"  does  that  exempt 
her  from  the  sacred  duties  of  a  wife  or  mother  ?  to 
say  nothing  of  the  common  affections  of  our  nature. 
Nay,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  expect  from  one  to  whom 
so  much  had  been  given  even  more  than  an  ordinary 
return  of  loving-kindness  ?  It  is  in  the  power  of 
woman  to  make  home  happy  or  miserable.  Under 
her  warm  smiles  the  affections  of  the  household  bud 
and  blossom.  But  if  she  yields  to  the  instigation  of 
the  evil  one,  and  sets  herself  to  harass  by  her  discon- 
tents and  jealousies,  all  joy  and  comfort  are  driven 
out  of  doors.* 

The  calamities  that  overtook  the  little  daughters 

*  It  is  perfectly  natural  to  compare  Mrs.  Humfrey  unfavorably  with 
another  lady  of  high  birth,  who  lived  in  the  same  neighborhood.  I 
allude  to  Mrs.  Whiting,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Whiting.  She  was 
a  sister  of  Chief  Justice  St.  John,  and  could  trace  her  pedigree,  in  two 
distinct  lines,  straight  to  William  the  Conqueror.  Indeed  she  could 
boast  of  direct  descent  from  Canute,  the  famous  Danish  sovereign, 
whose  unsuccessful  command  to  the  waves  of  the  sea,  has  been  so 
long  celebrated  as  a  lesson  damaging  to  conceit  and  obsequious  flattery. 
She  came,  with  her  husband,  in  1636,  and  remained  till  her  death,  in 
1677,  energetically  supporting  him  in  his  arduous  duties,  and  lovingly 
cleaving  to  him  in  sickness  and  every  other  ill.  In  this  then  com- 
parative wilderness  she  reared  a  most  worthy  family ;  and  some 
eminent  descendants  still  do  honor  to  her  memory.  She  was,  indeed, 
one  of  the  noble  New  England  mothers  of  whom  we  delight  to  read. 
Like  a  true  heroine,  she  seems  never  to  have  permitted  yearnings  for 
the  sumptuous  home  of  her  early  life,  to  swerve  her  from  the  path  of 
duty  or  even  to  depress  her  spirits.  With  Lady  Humfrey  she  was 
undoubtedly  intimate,  as  but  a  short  walk  lay  between  their  residences  ; 
and  having  been  reared  in  the  same  cultivated  society  they  may  well 
be  supposed  to  have  enjoyed  each  other's  company.  Why  the  cheerful- 
ness of  the  one  failed  to  dispel  the  gloom  of  the  other,  may,  perhaps, 
be  accounted  for  by  the  evident  divergence  in  their  natural  traits  of 
character. 


JOHN    HUMFREY.       .  59 

of  Mr.  Humfrey,  Dorcas  and  Sarah,  can  never  fail  to 
excite  the  most  ardent  pity  for  them,  and  the  deepest 
indignation  towards  those  who  laid  their  baneful  hands 
upon  them.  It  cannot  be  considered  even  probable 
that  either  of  the  parents,  when  they  left  the  country, 
had  one  shadow  of  suspicion  of  the  "wickedness," 
as  the  records  of  the  Court  term  it,  which  had  been 
practised  on  their  daughters  ;  and  we  can  readily 
believe,  reasoning  from  the  plainest  dictates  of  parental 
duty,  that  they  intended  presently  to  send  for  them  — 
though  where  is  the  evidence  ?  Could  it  have  been 
that  after  the  developments  were  made,  they  concluded 
to  abandon  their  offspring  to  their  fate  ?  Of  true  and 
loving  parents  one  would  have  expected  a  different 
account.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  conduct  of  the 
girls  themselves  merited  censure,  for  by  the  Court, 
June  14,  1642,  "Dorcas  Humfrey  was  ordered  to  bee 
privately  severely  corrected  by  this  Cort,  Mr  Belling- 
ham  &  Increase  Nowell  to  see  it  done."  But  Dorcas 
was  then  only  about  nine  years  of  age,  and  Sarah 
still  younger  —  both  beneath  the  age  when  consent 
to  any  gross  vice  could  be  presumed — and  it  was  hard 
to  treat  them  as  really  abandoned. 

It  is  painful  to  dwell  on  such  a  subject ;  but  it 
would  be  hardly  proper  to  quit  here  without  a  further 
remark  or  two.  It  was  in  1641  that  it  was  discovered 
that  one  Daniel  Fairfield,  who  Winthrop  says  was  a 
half  Dutchman,  about  forty  years  of  age,  dwelling 
not  far  from  the  farm  of  Mr.  Humfrey,  had  gained 
such  an  influence  over  Dorcas,  that  she  often  went  to 
his  house,  and  was  there  abused  by  him,  especially 
on  Sundays  and  lecture-days.  There  was  also  a 


6O  .II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

John  Hudson,  "  a  lusty  young  man,"  as  the  author 
just  quoted  styles  him,  "  an  household  servant  to  Mr. 
Humfrey,  who  working  sometimes  at  the  farm,  the 

elder  girl  being  there 

he  abused   her,   she   being  then   about 

eight  years  of  age."  Then  there  was  one  Jenkin 
Davis,  of  Lynn,  to  whom  the  girls  were  afterward  put 
to  board  and  school.  He  had  been  employed  by  Mr. 
Humfrey,  was  a  member  of  the  Lynn  church,  "  and 
in  good  esteem  for  piety  and  sobriety."  This  hypo- 
crite also  abused  one  or  both  of  the  children,  contin- 
uing, as  Winthrop  says,  "  this  wicked  course  near  a 
year  but  with  much  striving  against  the  temptation, 
so  as  he  would  oft  entreat  his  wife,  when  she  went 
forth,  to  carry  the  children  with  her,  and  put  up  a 
bill  to  the  elders,  to  pray  for  one  who  was  strongly 
tempted  to  a  foul  sin."  There  was  certainly  some- 
thing extraordinary  in  the  prolonged  reticence  of 
these  children ;  something  that  seems  to  indicate 
either  intellectual  deficiency  or  a  premature  tendency 
to  vice  coupled  with  most  singular  shrewdness.  The 
historian  just  quoted  further  adds  that  Dorcas  finally 
also  accused  two  of  her  own  brothers  of  improper 
conduct  with  her.  But  the  boys  were  so  young  that 
only  private  correction  was  adjudged  them. 

The  great  offenders  —  Fairfield,  Hudson  and  Da- 
vis—  made  confession  of  their  crimes,  and  the  cases 
came  up  for  judgment  in  the  General  Court.  Here  a 
great  debate  arose  as  to  the  legal  quality  of  the  offence, 
and  whether  the  punishment  of  death  could  be  award- 
ed. A  great  fire  was  kindled  which  blazed  all  over 
the  Colony,  and  indeed  extended  to  the  other  colonies. 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  6l 

The  Court  sought  "  to  know  the  mind  of  God  by  the 
help  of  all  the  elders  of  the  country,  both  our  own, 
and  Plymouth,  and  Connecticut,  New  Haven,  &c. 
They  took  it  into  consideration  divers  months,  and  at 
last  returned  different  answers."  The  simple  legal 
questions  seem  to  have  been  debated  on  principles 
similar  to  those  recognized  as  governing  like  questions 
at  this  day ;  but  there  was  so  much  of  the  Levitical 
law  brought  to  bear,  that  great  perplexity  was  occa- 
sioned. A  result,  however,  was  finally  reached,  and 
a  punishment  awarded  which  appears  like  a  queer 
sort  of  compromise.  "  The  help  of  the  elders,"  says 
Winthrop,  "  being  presented  to  the  General  Court, 
held  in  the  3  month  [May]  1642,  the  Court  proceeded 
against  the  said  offenders,  (Mr.  Winthrop  being  again 
chosen  Governor  at  this  Court,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Flint 
of  Concord  newly  elected  to  be  an  Assistant,  so  as 
there  were  now  in  all  nine  magistrates.)  The  Court 
was  much  divided  about  the  sentence.  The  foulness 
of  the  sin,  and  their  long  continuance  in  it,  wrought 
strongly  with  many  to  put  them  to  death,  (especially 
Fairfield ;)  but  after  much  dispute,  (and  some  remain- 
ing doubtful,)  the  Court  agreed  upon  another  sentence. 
The  only  reason  that  saved  their  lives,  was,  that  the 
sin  was  not  capital  by  any  express  law  of  God,  but  to 
be  drawn  only  by  proportion  ;  nor  was  it  made  capital 
by  any  law  of  our  own,  so  as  we  had  no  warrant  to 
put  them  to  death,  and  we  had  formerly  refrained  (by 
the  advice  of  the  elders)  upon  the  same  ground,"  in 
another  case. 

This  was  the  sentence  of  Fairfield  : 

"  The  Cot  therefore  agreed  that  this  aforenamed 


62  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

Dan :  Fairfeild  shalbee  severely  whiped  at  Boston 
the  next  lecture  day,  &  have  one  of  his  nostrills  slit 
so  high  as  may  well  bee,  &  then  to  bee  seared  and 
kept  in  prison  till  hee  bee  fit  to  bee  sent  to  Salem, 
and  then  to  be  whiped  againe,  &  have  the  other  nos- 
trill  slit  &  seared ;  then  further  hee  is  to  bee  confined 
to  Boston  neck,  so  as  if  hee  bee  found  at  any  time 
dureing  his  life  to  go  out  of  Boston  neck,  that  is, 
beyond  the  railes  towards  Roxberry,  or  beyond  the 
low  water  marke,  hee  shalbee  put  to  death  upon  due 
conviction  thereof ;  and  hee  is  also  to  weare  a  hempen 
roape  about  his  neck,  the  end  of  it  hanging  out  two 
foote  at  least,  &  so  often  as  he  shalbe  found  abroad 
wthout  it,  hee  shalbee  whiped  ;  &  if  hee  shall  at  any 
time  hearafter  attempt  to  abuse  any  person  as  form- 
erly, hee  shall  bee  put  to  death,  upon  due  conviction  ; 
and  hee  is  to  pay  Mr  Humfrey  forty  pounds."  [Court 
Records,  June  14,  1642. 

A  year  or  two  after,  however,  he  was  "  alowed  to 
go  to  work  wthin  any  part  of  Boston  lymits,  both  in 
the  ilands  and  elsewhere,  and  also  at  Roxberry,  so  as 
hee  go  not  above  five  miles  from  Boston  meeting 
house."  And  by  the  Court  on  the  2d  of  May,  1649, 
on  the  petition  of  Elizabeth  his  wife,  leave  was  granted 
for  "  her  husband,  shee  and  their  children,  to  depart 
out  of  this  jurisdiction  into  such  other  parts  of  the 
world  as  it  shall  please  God  to  dispose  ;  provided  that 
her  husband  shall  be  under  his  former  censure  if  hee 
returne  hithr  againe."  But  they  do  not  appear  to 
have  availed  themselves  of  this  liberty  to  depart ;  or 
if  they  did  they  must  have  soon  returned,  for  on  the 
27th  of  May,  1652,  the  Court  on  another  petition  of 


JOHN   HUMFREY.  63 

the  wife,  give  him  leave  "to  lay  the  rope  aside." 
Finally,  on  the  I4th  of  October,  1656,  "Daniel  Fayr- 
feild,  vpon  his  petition  to  this  Court,  hath  libty  to 
goe  for  England  in  one  of  these  shipps  now  bound 
thither  ;  provided  if  he  come  agayne  he  shall  forthwth 
returne  to  the  same  condition  agayn  as  now  he  is  in, 
&  be  comitted  forthwth  to  prison." 

This  was  the  sentence  of  Hudson : 

"  John  Hudson,  for  abuseing  the  said  Dorcas,  was 
ordered  to  bee  severely  whiped  at  Boston  the  next 
lecture  day,  and  shalbee  returned  to  prison  till  hee 
may  bee  sent  to  Salem  &  there  to  bee  severely  whiped 
againe  ;  &  hee  shall  pay  unto  Mr  Humfrey  for  abuse- 
ing  his  daughter,  twenty  pounds  wthin  these  two 
yeares.  [Court  Records,  June  14,  1642. 

At  the  same  Court,  Davis  received  sentence  as 
follows : 

"Jenkin  Davies,  for  his  abuseing  the  forenamed 
Dorcas,  was  ordered  to  bee  severely  whiped  at  Boston 
on  a  lecture  day,  &  shalbe  returned  to  prison  till  hee 
may  bee  sent  to  Linne,  &  there  to  bee  severely  whiped 
also,  &  from  thencefourth  shalbee  confined  to  the  said 
towne  of  Linne,  so  as  if  he  shall  at  any  time  go  fourth 
of  the  bounds  of  the  said  towne,  (wthout  licence  of  this 
Cot,)  &  shalbee  duely  convict  thereof,  hee  shalbee 
put  to  death  ;  &  also  hee  shall  weare  an  hempen  roape 
apparently  about  his  neck  dureing  the  pleasure  of  this 
Cot,  so  as  if  hee  bee  found  to  have  gone  abroad  at 
any  time  wthout  it,  hee  shalbee  againe  whiped  ;  & 
furthr,  if  hee  shalbee  duely  convicted  to  have  attempt- 
ed any  such  wickednes  (for  w0*1  hee  is  now  sentenced) 
upon  any  child  after  this  present  day,  hee  shalbee  put 


64  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

to  death  ;  &  hee  is  to  pay  forty  pounds  to  Mr  Humfrey 
for  abuseing  his  daughter." 

On  the  I7th  of , October,  1643,  the  Court,  "upon 
his  wifes  petition,"  grant  Davis  liberty  "  to  leave  of 
his  roape  dureing  the  Cots  pleasure."  The  sentence, 
it  will  be  recollected,  was  given  by  the  General  Court, 
June  14,  1642.  Before  that  time  he  was  imprisoned 
for  safe-keeping;  but  on  the  loth  of  December,  1641, 
the  Court  granted  that  "  If  two  sufficient  men  will 
give  ioo/.  bond  a  peece  for  Jenkin  Davies,  they  may 
have  him  for  a  time  ;  or  if  other  two  honest  men  will 
be  bound  for  him,  body  for  body,  for  ten  dayes,  keep- 
ing a  lock  upon  his  leg,  or  other  irons,  &  then  to 
rcturne  him  to  the  prison." 

These  abandoned  men,  according  to  Winthrop, 
received  their  punishment,  the  whippings  consisting 
of  nearly  forty  stripes,  very  patiently,  and  without 
complaining,  and  acknowledged  that  the  penalty  was 
less  than  their  offences  merited. 

And  now,  after  this  painful  narration,  who  will 
deny  that  Mr.  Humfrey  had  sufficient  to  make  his 
life  very  miserable.  It  is  quite  evident  that  long 
before  he  died  his  heart  was  almost  broken.  In  a 
letter  to  Governor  Winthrop,  dated  September  4th, 
1646,  he  says  :  "  It  is  true,  the  want  of  that  lost  occa- 
sion, the  loss  of  all  I  had  in  the  world,  doth,  upon 
rubbings  of  that  irreparable  blow,  sometimes  a  little 
trouble  me ;  but  in  no  respect  equal  to  this,  that  I 
see  my  hopes  and  possibilities  of  ever  enjoying  those 
I  did  or  was  willing  to  suffer  any  thing  for,  utterly 
taken  away.  But  by  what  intermediate  hand  soever 
this  has  befallen  me,  whose  neglects  and  unkindness 


JOHN   HUMFREY.  65 

God  I  hope  will  mind  them  for  their  good,  yet  I  desire 
to  look  at  his  hand  for  good  I  doubt  not  to  me,  though 
I  do  not  so  fully  see  which  way  it  may  work.  Sir,  I 
thank  you,  again  and  again,  and  that  in  sincerity,  for 
any  fruits  of  your  goodness  to  me  and  mine  ;  and  for 
any  thing  contrary,  I  bless  his  name,  I  labor  to  forget, 
and  desire  him  to  pardon." 

As  before  stated,  Mr.  Humfrey  located  on  what  is 
now  Nahant  street,  in  Lynn.  His  house  stood  on 
rising  ground,  a  few  rods  from  the  sea.  The  situation 
was  romantic  in  the  extreme,  and  quite  wild,  as  the 
foot  of  Improvement  had  hardly  begun  to  invade  the 
domain  of  Nature.  A  grand  view  was  afforded  of  the 
indented  shore,  of  the  romantic  peninsula  of  Nahant, 
then  thickly  wooded,  and  of  the  picturesque  islands 
of  Boston  bay.  And,  stretching  far  off  to  the  east, 
lay  the  illimitable  ocean,  a  broad  expanse  of  blue, 
not,  as  now,  dotted  by  the  white  sails  nor  marked  by 
the  trailing  steam-clouds  of  commerce  ;  while  inland 
stretched  the  grove-studded  plains,  with  here  and 
there  the  smoke  of  a  habitation  curling  up  ;  and  be- 
yond, the  rock-ribbed,  pine-clad  hills.  In  the  calm 
sunshine  of  a  summer  day  a  scene  of  indescribable 
quietude  and  beauty  was  presented.  But  when  the 
storm-winds  bellowed  among  those  rocky  indentations 
and  the  mountain  billows  shook  the  jagged  cliffs  to 
their  very  foundations  ;  when  the  yesty  waves  surged 
furiously  over  the  yielding  beaches,  and  the  powerless 
sea-birds  were  driven  shrieking  towards  the  inland 
hills ;  when  the  whole  landscape  became  dim  and  weird 
in  the  drifting  clouds  of  ocean  spray  ;  when  the  blasts 
made  havoc  among  the  gnarled  giants  of  the  forest, 

5 


66  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

and  the  wild  beasts  in  terror  quit  their  fastnesses  and 
drew  nearer  to  the  lonely  habitations  of  the  settlers  ; 
then  it  was  that  thoughts  of  the  happy  homes  beyond 
the  dark  waves  might  well  come  up,  creating  gloom 
and  despondency. 

A  few  rods  from  his  house,  on  the  summit  of  a 
neighboring  hill,  Mr.  Humfrey  erected  a  wind-mill,  in 
1636.  Mills  were  of  the  first  importance,  at  that 
period.  Indeed,  if  any  one  will  take  pains  to  look 
well  into  the  history  of  civilization  itself,  and  trace 
out  the  effects  of  certain  inventions,  he  will  be  con- 
strained almost  to  declare  that  the  emergence  from 
barbarism  is  to  be  attributed  to  mills  ;  he  certainly 
will  perceive  that  they  were  at  least  essential  aids  to 
civilization.  Indian  corn  furnished  a  material  portion 
of  the  food  of  the  settlers,  and  they  required  mills  for 
the  grinding.  The  Indians  had  but  few  arts  that  the 
settlers  found  it  profitable  to  adopt ;  and  their  custom 
of  cracking  corn  by  hand  was  surely  not  to  be  followed 
by  those  whose  time  was  of  any  value,  or  who  had 
ever  seen  a  mill  of  even  the  rudest  construction. 

It  was  amusing  to  observe  with  what  different  emo- 
tions the  Indians  who  came  in  sight  of  this  wind-mill, 
on  their  way  to  the  beaches  with  their  clam  baskets, 
viewed  the  formidable  structure.  Most  of  them  sup- 
posed it  to  be  a  warlike  erection.  But  some  thought 
it  was  designed  for  recreation  —  a  sort  of  revolving 
swing,  perhaps.  This  last  supposition  Arrow  John 
evidently  entertained  as  he  discovered  it  one  morning, 
while  coming  along  with  his  daughter  Sunny  Wave. 
"  Ugh,  ugh  ! "  he  ejaculated  ;  "  white  man's  wind  cart ; 
now  little  squaw  have  ride."  At  this  he  seized  her, 


JOHN     HUMFREY.  6/ 

and  managed  to  plant  himself,  with  her  at  his  side,  on 
one  of  the  arms.  It  moved  very  slowly  in  the  light 
breeze,  or  the  feat  would  have  been  impossible.  The 
additional  weight,  or  a  sudden  lull,  caused  a  moment- 
ary check  in  the  revolutions.  And  the  lazy  miller, 
who  happened  by  accident  to  be  at  his  post,  perceived 
the  hitch  and  ran  out  to  ascertain  the  cause.  There 
he  beheld  the  two  riders  with  their  heads  just  turning 
downward,  and  clinging  on,  with  all  their  might,  to 
prevent  being  dashed  to  the  earth.  He  was  utterly 
amazed,  but  still  had  discretion  enough  to  rush  back 
and  stop  the  machinery  as  soon  as  he  perceived  that 
they  could  safely  land.  They  came  down  from  their 
airing  nearly  unharmed,  but  with  no  desire  for  another 
trip  in  Mr.  Humfrey's  "  wind  cart."  They  were  taken 
into  the  house  and  provided  with  a  good  breakfast. 
The  miller  then  took  them  back  to  the  mill  and  ex- 
plained the  mysteries  of  its  use  and  operation.  And 
when  the  Indian  had  arrived  at  a  partial  understand- 
ing of  the  wonderful  thing,  he  stood  meditatively  at  the 
door,  a  few  minutes  and  then  as  he  turned  away,  in 
his  impressive  gutturals  ejaculated,  "Ugh,  ugh!  white 
man  great ;  make  water  work  ;  make  wind  work  ; 
make  um  grind  ;  like  to  ground  up  Indjans  ;  ugh  ! " 
And  ever  after,  the  mill  was  to  him  an  object  of  pro- 
found meditation.  He  would  sit  on  a  neighboring 
hill  and  contemplate  it  for  hours,  as  it  swung  its  great 
arms  in  the  breeze,  evidently  feeling  himself  incapable 
of  fully  grasping  the  whole  mystery  of  its  being.  But 
poor  little  Sunny  Wave  was  terror  stricken  when 
she  heard  Mr.  Humfrey  tell  the  miller  that  he  must 
have  a  sack  of  indian  meal  ready  ground  for  a  neigh- 


68  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

bor  against  he  called  in  the  morning.  In  her  inno- 
cence she  supposed  that  indian  meal  must  be  ground 
Indian  ;  and  apprehending  that  she  and  her  father 
might  be  put  in  the  hopper  to  supply  the  neighbor's 
grist,  frantically  besought  him  to  depart  with  her. 
The  roguish  miller  laughed  immoderately  at  her 
fright,  and  by  sundry  gestures  increased  her  distress. 
Her  father  thereupon  became  excessively  angry  and 
would  have  done  serious  mischief  but  for  the  timely 
interposition  of  Mr.  Humfrey,  who  knocked  the  miller 
over,  before  their  faces.  By  degrees  she  became  calm, 
and  within  an  hour  was  sporting  with  the  good  man's 
daughters  on  the  verdant  patch  that  stretched  down 
from  the  base  of  the  mill.  And  on  many  occasions 
after  her  singular  introduction  did  she  gambol  with 
those  ill-fated  girls,  there  and  on  the  neighboring 
heights,  all  unconscious  of  the  dark  destiny  that  await- 
ed them. 

When  the  developments  respecting  the  vicious  con- 
duct of  Fairfield,  Hudson  and  Davis,  took  place, 
there  was  a  suspicion  that  Sunny  Wave  had  some 
knowledge  of  the  nefarious  transactions.  She  had 
manifested  great  repugnance  towards  Hudson,  espe- 
cially, whom  she  occasionally  saw  at  Mr.  Humfrey's 
house.  Possibly  her  dislike  was  first  caused  by  see- 
ing him  violently  kick  away  a  poor  little  calf  that 
trotted  up  to  its  mother  for  its  evening  meal ;  or, 
perhaps,  she  instinctively  scented  his  villainous  pro- 
pensity. It  was  recollected  that  she  repeatedly  used 
all  her  little  arts  to  keep  the  girls  from  his  company. 
On  one  occasion,  when  she  was  in  the  field  with 
Dorcas,  he  came  along  and  tried  to  persuade  the 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  69 

latter  to  go  on  a  ramble  with  him.  This  she  violently 
opposed,  and  would  not  leave  them.  He  then  made 
some  forcible  demonstration  ;  upon  which  she  seized 
the  unresisting  girl  by  main  strength  and  dashed  over 
a  craggy  precipice  to  the  peril  of  their  lives,  and  to 
his  utter  amazement.  She  told  Mr.  Humfrey  repeat- 
edly that  he  was  a  "  devil  man,"  and  tried  to  persuade 
her  father  to  kill  him  outright  ;  and  he,  very  willing 
to  gratify  her,  asked  of  Mr.  Humfrey  permission  to 
despatch  the  wretch. 

It  was  remarked  that  some  of  the  Indians  supposed 
that  Mr.  Humfrey's  wind-mill  was  a  terrible  engine 
of  war.  And  they  looked  upon  its  erection  as  a 
decidedly  hostile  demonstration.  It  had  stood  frown- 
ing there  but  a  short  time,  when  on  a  stormy  night 
a  terrific  outcry  was  heard  in  its  neighborhood.  Great 
alarm  ensued,  as  an  Indian  attack  was  apprehended, 
they  usually  selecting  such  nights  for  their  hostile 
incursions.  The  settlers  speedily  mustered,  armed 
with  such  weapons  as  came  to  hand.  It  was  soon 
found  that  a  considerable  body  of  the  red  men  had 
made  a  descent  upon  the  inoffensive  wind-mill,  and 
were  assaulting  it  with  great  fury,  shouting  and  dis- 
charging arrows,  stones,  and  clubs  in  uninterrupted 
vollies.  And  they  could  not  be  driven  off  till  the 
sails  were  completely  riddled  and  such  further  mis- 
chief done  that  many  grists  had  to  lie  long  unground. 

The  mill  of  Mr.  Humfrey  was  quite  noted  and  the 
Court,  on  various  occasions,  bestowed  their  smiles 
upon  it.  But  millers,  in  some  other  localities,  had 
brought  scandal  upon  the  profession  of  grinding  by 
the  extraordinary  frequency  of  their  mistakes  in  the 


7O  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

measurement  of  toll ;  and  all  the  orders  and  admoni- 
tions of  the  Court  failed  to  correct  the  unfortunate 
tendency  to  error  ;  indeed  it  seemed  as  if  an  individual 
when  he  became  connected  with  a  mill,  at  once  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  in  the  matter  of  toll  it  always 
took  three  pints  to  make  a  quart ;  an  arithmetical 
hallucination  that  no  discipline  could  correct.  It  was 
in  the  nature  of  the  conceit  of  the  worthy  milk-men  of 
the  present  day,  that  in  lacteal  fluids  a  pint  and  a 
half  make  a  quart ;  an  error  which  they  cling  to  with 
dreadful  pertinacity.  The  same  year  in  which  Mr. 
Humfrey  erected  his  mill,  that  is,  in  1636,  the  Court 
ordered  "  That  noe  mill1"  shall  take  above  the  sixteenth 
parte  of  the  corne  hee  grinds,  &  that  every  millar 
shall  have  alwaies  ready  in  his  mill  waights  &  scales 
provided  att  his  owne  charge."  This  seems  plain 
enough ;  but  yet  it  appears  that  the  rogues  usually, 
by  mistake  of  course,  took  an  eighth  part  instead  of  a 
sixteenth. 

A  couple  of  years  after  Mr.  Humfrey's  mill  was 
first  in  operation  a  legislative  committee  was  sent  out 
to  examine  into  its  affairs.  But  what  the  particular 
object  was  the  records  do  not  disclose.  Whether  it 
was  for  the  purpose  of  holding  it  up  as  a  pattern  for 
similar  institutions  in  other  parts  of  the  Colony,  or 
there  were  suspicions  that  something  wrong  had  crept 
into  its  management,  it  is  useless  now  to  undertake 
to  determine  ;  though  we  prefer  to  stand  on  the  side 
of  the  pattern.  Still  it  is  possible  that  some  one  of 
the  men  employed  about  the  mill  had  been  up  to 
knavish  tricks  —  appropriating  an  undue  portion  of 
their  neighbors'  grists;  or  grinding  too  coarse,  perhaps. 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  71 

The  fact  that  the  depraved  John  Hudson  was  in  the 
service  of  the  proprietor,  furnishes  reasonable  ground 
for  suspicion.  By  the  Quarterly  Court,  held  Decem- 
ber i,  1640,  "Henry  Stevens,  for  fireing  the  barne 
of  his  mr,  [master]  Mr  Humfrey,  was  ordered  to  bee 
servant  to  Mr  Humfrey  for  21  years,  toward  recom- 
pencing  him  for  the  losse."  And  this  is  further  evi- 
dence that  the  poor  man  was  surrounded  by  a  set 
of  villains. 

The  committee  started  from  Boston  on  horseback, 
of  a  bright  rosy  morning,  though  the  weather  soon 
changed  and  became  disagreeably  raw,  and  arrived  at 
the  great  Saugus  ferry  not  far  from  noon.  The  boat 
was  on  the  farther  shore,  basking  in  the  sun  like  a 
tarred  crocodile.  But  the  watchful  ferryman — watch- 
ful because  his  franchise  as  well  as  his  profits  depend- 
ed on  his  vigilance  —  from  the  door  of  his  shanty 
perceived  the  impatient  applicants  for  his  services, 
and  put  across.  The  dignitaries  were  presently  on 
board,  and  the  horses,  which  were  to  try  their  skill  at 
swimming,  attached  to  the  tow-ropes,  with  which 
such  craft  were  at  that  time  always  supplied.  All 
things  bid  fair  for  a  prosperous  voyage,  as  they 
shoved  off.  But  adverse  events  will  sometimes  turn 
up  to  mar  the  brightest  prospects.  The  Boston  mem- 
ber insisted  on  holding  the  rope  of  his  own  nag  — 
thus  indiscreetly  transferring  the  responsibility  of  his 
safe  transit  from  the  ferryman's  shoulders  to  his  own. 
But  things  would  no  doubt  have  ended  well  enough, 
had  not  the  horse,  when  they  were  about  half  way 
over,  been  suddenly  seized  with  some  suspicion  as  to 
the  safety  of  his  own  precious  hide,  or  perhaps  some 


72  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

malicious  desire  to  pay  off  upon  his  unwary  master  a 
little  that  he  fancied  to  be  due  in  the  squaring  of  old 
accounts.  But  whatever  the  motive  was,  the  fact  is 
that  when  they  were  just  crossing  the  channel,  the 
beast  gave  his  head  a  violent  toss,  and  without  the 
least  warning  twitched  his  master  overboard.  The 
impetus  was  such  that  he  went  down  fairly  to  the 
bottom  ;  and  then  he  came  up  and  rolled  over  and 
blew  like  a  porpoise.  The  nag  kicked  and  splashed 
a  while,  and  then  turned  toward  the  shore  he  had  just 
left,  soon  gaining  a  foothold  in  the  clam-beds,  whose 
peaceful  inhabitants  became  so  alarmed  that  their 
very  shells  gaped  asunder  in  terror.  And  in  his  wake 
followed  his  master,  who  had  grasped  the  extended 
tail.  The  fellow  legislators  beheld  the  scene  with 
dismay  ;  but  the  ferryman  lost  no  time  in  backing  the 
boat  to  where  they  had  landed.  The  air  was  chill,  and 
the  poor  man's  teeth  were  chattering  so  that  it  was 
some  time  before  he  could  articulate  a  word.  The 
provident  ferryman  had  a  little  keg  on  board,  supplied 
with  a  stimulant  thought  to  be  useful  on  all  such 
occasions  ;  and  indeed  there  was  in  the  provision 
wallet  of  the  travelers  themselves  a  deposit  of  the 
same  sort.  A  liberal  quantity  was  administered,  and 
the  spirits  of  the  patient  went  up  as  the  distilled 
spirits  went  down. 

The  good  man  was  found  to  be  little  injured,  and 
things  were  soon  in  order  for  a  second  attempt  to 
gain  the  other  side.  But  as  they  proceeded  to  lead 
in  the  mischief-making  quadruped — the  other  horses 
having  all  remained  dull  and  docile  as  lambs  —  he 
cast  a  suspicious  glance  out  upon  the  water,  and  then 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  73 

became  unaccountably  excited.  He  threw  back  his 
ears,  snorted,  reared,  and  in  short  conducted  in  a  most 
unhandsome  manner,  a  manner  clearly  indicating 
either  excessive  fright  or  the  possession  of  an  evil 
spirit.  The  harder  they  drew  forward  the  harder  he 
drew  back  ;  and  as  he  was  physically  the  most  pow- 
erful, they  left  off  tugging,  and  resorted  to  scolding 
and  kicking ;  the  ferryman  adding  swearing  to  the 
other  incentives.  But  nothing  would  induce  him  to 
advance  a  hoof. 

And  it  was  well  for  them  that  their  endeavors  were 
unsuccessful,  as  they  soon  perceived  ;  for,  on  glancing 
towards  the  channel,  they  were  horrified  to  discover 
a  great  swaggering  shark,  evidently  on  the  watch  for 
a  savory  meal  of  man  or  horse.  They  stood  aghast 
at  the  grinning  personification  of  ferocity  and  impu- 
dence, and  spontaneously  concluded  that  he  had  been 
the  occasion  of  the  first  unruly  manifestation  ;  a  con- 
clusion that  at  once  restored  the  nag  to  full  favor,  and 
secured  for  him  caresses  in  compensation  for  the  kicks 
and  curses.  Proper  steps  were  of  course  taken  to 
defeat  the  shark  in  his  surreptitious  attempt  to  pro- 
cure a  meal.  And  the  crossing  was  finally  accom- 
plished in  safety.  The  boat  then  returned  to  its  croco- 
dile state,  the  ferryman  retired  within  his  shanty  for 
his  noon  repast  and  nap,  and  the  travelers  proceeded 
on  their  way  with  all  possible  speed.  And  the  ex- 
ercise of  riding  prevented  the  chills  again  seizing  the 
member  who  had  been  so  unceremoniously  forced  to 
the  enjoyments  of  a  cold  bath. 

On  their  arrival  at  the  hospitable  habitation  of  Mr. 
Humfrey  the  still  wet  garments  were  displaced  by 


74  H.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

those  dry  and  warm  supplied  from  the  well-conditioned 
wardrobe  of  the  host.  And  after  a  little  rest  a  savory 
repast  was  spread,  for  nobody  knew,  better  than  their 
entertainer,  the  mollifying  effect  of  a  well-timed  and 
well-appointed  offering  to  the  stomach.  Such  appli- 
ances soothe  animosities  where  they  exist,  and  create 
friendships  where  none  existed  before.  There  is 
abundant  evidence  that  anciently  legislative  commit- 
tees fully  appreciated  this  sort  of  bribery,  and  were 
occasionally  ensnared  by  it.  But  we  are  thankful 
that  the  sterling  integrity  of  the  legislators  of  this 
day  allows  no  suspicion  to  rest  on  them.  An  invita- 
tion to  a  good  dinner  or  to  a  free  ride  on  a  rail-road 
would  shock  one  of  our  senators  or  representatives 
as  an  unpardonable  attempt  on  his  virtue. 

From  the  window  of  the  room  in  which  Mr.  Hum- 
frey  had  the  banquet  spread,  the  wind-mill,  the  great 
object  of  the  committee's  perilous  journey,  was  in  full 
view,  swinging  its  giant  arms  in  useful  labor,  and 
creaking  a  hoarse  welcome  to  the  visitors.  What 
remained  of  the  day,  after  they  had  risen  from  their 
feast,  was  spent  in  strolling  along  the  beaches,  where 
they  gathered  their  handkerchiefs  full  of  luscious 
clams  ;  in  viewing  the  "farm  ;  and  in  making  calls  on 
divers  of  the  settlers  who  resided  in  the  vicinity, 
several  of  the  most  jolly  of  whom  were  invited  to 
spend  a  social  hour  or  two  with  the  committee. 

Accordingly,  in  the  evening,  quite  a  party  was 
gathered  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Humfrey.  They  spent 
some  time  in  discussing  the  adventures  of  the  day, 
and  in  discussing  the  great  political  questions  then 
agitating  the  colonial  mind.  But  the  discussion  they 


JOHN   HUMFREY.  75 

entered  into  with  the  greatest  zeal,  with  rapacity 
even,  was  that  of  a  dish  formed  of  the  clams  they  had 
gathered.  Daniel  Webster  himself  never  made  a 
better  chowder  than  Mr.  Humfrey  produced  on  this 
eventful  occasion  ;  and  never  did  one  of  the  great 
statesman's  culinary  productions  elicit  more  ardent 
praise.  Great  hilarity  prevailed,  particularly  as  the 
sitting  drew  toward  the  close,  for  descents  had  from 
time  to  time  been  made  upon  the  cellar  where  were 
stored  generous  deposits  of  the  liquors  which  had 
found  their  way  hither  through  the  West  India  trade 
in  which  Mr.  Humfrey  was  so  largely  interested.  O, 
it  was  a  jolly  time.  The  good  old  psalm  tunes  rang 
forth  with  such  nasal  twangs  as  threatened  the  abso- 
lute bursting  of  all  but  the  strongest  noses  ;  and  then 
there  was  a  comical  jingling  in  and  jumbling  up  of 
ale-house  ditties,  and  patriotic  songs,  and  such  won- 
derful eccentricities  of  harmony  as  would  have  attract- 
ed attention  even  in  that  gigantic  musical  ventilator, 
the  Boston  coliseum  of  the  proud  year  1869.  Every 
few  minutes  there  was  a  zealous  shaking  of  hands,  all 
round,  and  most  ardent  declarations  of  friendship. 
The  happy  scene  did  not  close  till  a  late  hour.  And 
the  voices  of  some  of  those  good  neighbors  who  had 
been  at  the  party  were  heard  in  cheerful  song  when 
they  were  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off  on  the  way  home. 
Metaphorically  speaking,  the  wind  was  now  due  west 
with  the  mill. 

The  lodging  place  of  the  committee  was  in  the  loft 
above  the  spacious  room  in  which  their  entertainment 
had  been  spread.  It  was  not  the  most  elegant  or 
richly  furnished  of  apartments  ;  for  it  must  not  be 


76  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

imagined  that  people  in  those  days  could  have  accom- 
modations that  would  bear  a  comparison  with  what 
such  a  dignified  committee  would  be  justified  in  ex- 
pecting at  this  day.  Fortunately,  however,  the  sweet 
restorer  of  tired  nature  does  not  make  mahogany 
bedsteads  and  embroidered  spreads  a  necessity  for 
her  refreshing  visits  ;  but  of  clam-chowder  she  is 
reputed  to  be  rather  shy.  Bare  rafters  traversed  the 
upper  atmosphere  of  the  room,  furnishing  admirable 
sporting  places  for  the  entertaining  sprites  who  figure 
in  delectable  nightmare  scenes.  And  the  floor  was  of 
rough  boards  with  joints  so  ill-adjusted  that  a  tooth- 
pick might  fall  through  the  cracks  upon  the  heads 
of  those  below.  And  all  about  there  was  the  delight- 
ful odor  of  dried  herbs.  Wind  still  west  with  the  mill. 

There  they  retired  for  their  much  needed  rest,  and 
the  deep  symphony  that  soon  resounded  from  their 
nasal  bulges,  indicated  their  oblivion,  for  the  time 
being,  to  all  that  might  molest  or  make  afraid. 

But  at  midnight  there  was  a  dreadful  outcry  in  the 
apartment  of  the  lodgers,  and  down  they  rushed,  pell- 
mell,  with  such  precipitancy  that  it  is  a  wonder  their 
bones  were  not  broken.  The  whole  household  were 
quickly  assembled  in  the  principal  room,  all  in  great 
trepidation,  each  fearing  to  inquire  into  the  nature 
of  the  terrible  onslaught  —  all  excepting  Mr.  Hum- 
frey,  in  whom  courage  and  timidity  were  strangely 
consorted,  each  at  intervals  predominating.  He  alone 
now  presented  a  bold  front,  endeavoring  to  calm  them 
and  ascertain  the  cause  of  their  alarm  :  but  all  he 
could  make  out  was  that  the  room  had  been  invad- 
ed by  a  host  of  armed  giants  who  were  marching 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  77 

back  and  forth  in  a  furious  and  threatening  manner ; 
their  motions  being  the  more  terrifying  as  they  were 
noiseless  as  ghosts. 

"  A  ghostly  invasion  ! "  exclaimed  Mr.  Humfrey, 
"  May  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  us  ! "  And  his  own 
hair  began  to  lift,  the  timidity  getting  the  upper  hand. 
But  the  courage  again  asserted  itself,  as  he  could  not 
avoid  realizing  his  responsibility  as  head  of  the  estab- 
lishment nor  the  presumptions  attaching  to  him  as  a 
military  man.  Yet,  though  he  might  valorously  meet 
flesh-and-blood  foes,  he  had  to  confess  to  himself  that 
for  a  battle  with  ghosts  he  had  no  eager  desire  to 
volunteer.  After  deliberating  a  short  time,  however, 
and  no  alarming  demonstration  occurring,  he  cau- 
tiously ascended  to  the  top  step,  and  projecting  his 
night-capped  head  into  the  room,  reconnoitered,'by 
the  efficient  aid  of  the  clear  moon,  which  shone 
benignantly  in  at  the  uncurtained  window.  Nothing 
that  he  could  discover  seemed  sufficient  to  justify  the 
extraordinary  alarm.  There  was  the  spinning-wheel, 
as  motionless  as  the  dame  left  it ;  there  stood  his  old 
firelock,  as  unmenacing  as  if  it  had  never  spit  fire  at 
a  foe  ;  there  hung  the  battered  plaster  portrait  of  his 
grandfather,  with  the  same  old  grimace  that  had 
beautified  it  for  forty  years  ;  there  hung  the  bundles 
of  herbs  ;  the  rusty  broad-brimmed  hat ;  and  the  rat 
trap.  None  of  them  looked  as  if  they  had  seen  any 
thing  frightful  nor  as  if  they  themselves  had  been 
cutting  up  shines.  So  he  called  to  the  trembling 
fugitives  below,  bidding  them  come  up  and  see  for 
themselves  that  all  was  right.  Presently  the  other 
night-capped  heads  appeared,  timidly  peering  in  at  the 


78  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS 

door.  No  sooner,  however,  had  those  bewildered 
heads  popped  in  than  they  popped  out  again.  And 
down  rushed  the  trembling  bodies  which  those  bewil- 
dered heads  surmounted,  a  second  time,  in  great 
trepidation.  They  declared  that  the  invaders  were 
still  there  pursuing  their  silent  march. 

Mr  Humfrey  was  greatly  puzzled.  He  could  not 
declare  against  his  own  senses,  for  he  had  never 
known  one  of  them  to  play  tricks  upon  him  ;  and  by 
neither  of  them  could  he  discover  any  thing  remarka- 
ble. Yet  he  could  not  believe  that  his  guests  were 
endeavoring  to  impose  upon  him,  nor  that  they  had 
been  seized  by  a  sudden  distraction.  Neither  did  he 
believe  that  they  had  drank  deep  enough  of  his  West 
India  importation  to  drown  all  their  wits.  There  he 
stood,  gazing  about  in  utter  amazement,  his  airy  night 
dress  swaying  "  like  a  cloud  floating  around  a  statue." 
It  occurred  to  him  that  the  clams  might  have  been 
skirmishing  in  their  stomachs  ;  and  to  those  inno- 
cent bivalves  would  the  mischief  surely  have  been 
attributed,  in  toto,  had  not  his  eyes  suddenly  opened  to 
a  new  truth  —  to  the  truth.  And  as  his  eyes  opened, 
so  likewise  opened  his  mouth  —  the  latter  in  a  pro- 
longed and  most  hearty  laugh  —  a  laugh  that  almost 
shook  from  their  places  the  spinning-wheel,  the  old 
firelock,  the  plaster  portrait,  the  broad  brimmed  hat, 
the  rat-trap,  and  the  bundles  of  herbs.  Now  every 
body  knows  that  a  good  laugh  will  often  restore  one 
to  self-possession  when  he  happens  to  drift  a  little 
from  his  intellectual  moorings  ;  for  the  reason,  I  sup- 
pose, that  it  gives  a  sudden  turn  to  the  mind.  No 
one  can  well  bear  to  be  laughed  at ;  and  when  we 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  79 

hear  a  laugh  with  the  cause  of  which  we  imagine 
ourselves  in  any  way  connected,  the  ears  of  our  curi- 
osity at  once  prick  up.  And  so  it  was  with  the 
committee,  in  view  of  Mr.  Humfrey's  merriment. 
Feeling  that  there  could  be  no  real  danger,  up  they 
at  once  rushed.  They  found  him  leaning  over,  by 
the  window,  intently  gazing  out,  his  great  laugh  sub- 
siding in  a  prolonged  chuckle,  which  finally  ended  in 
a  limping  wheeze.  Then  he  proceeded  to  explain  the 
phenomena  of  the  ghostly  invasion.  And  the  wind 
veered  rapidly  toward  the  east,  with  the  mill,  as  he 
proceeded  in  the  explanation. 

The  fact  was  simply  this :  there  being  a  fresh 
breeze,  the  wind-mill  was  kept  in  motion  all  night, 
for  the  purpose  of  grinding  off  the  accumulated  grists. 
The  mighty  arms,  with  their  flapping  sails  had  con- 
tinued their  majestic  revolutions  during  the  silent 
hours,  saluting  the  bright  moon  with  an  occasional 
creak  or  crack,  until  the  coursing  luminary  had  gained 
such  a  position  in  her  own  revolution  as  to  be  able  to 
return  some  of  the  compliments.  And  this  she  did 
by  throwing  down  her  most  lustrous  smiles  full  upon 
her  panting  friend  and  causing  the  dancing  shadows 
of  his  broad  arms  to  fall  in  sharpest  outline  first  upon 
the  side  of  the  house  and  then  through  the  complai- 
sant window  of  the  room  occupied  by  the  snoring 
vigilance  committee.  This  was  done  with  surprising 
effect.  And  even  a  clam  of  ordinary  brilliancy  of 
imagination  might  well  fancy  that  an  army  of  ghosts 
with  flaunting  banners  were  marching  back  and  forth. 
It  is  not  remarkable  that  a  person  suddenly  opening 
his  eyes,  from  a  troubled  sleep,  upon  such  a  scene, 


8O  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

should  be  startled  ;  but  that  it  should  be  so  taken 
for  reality  seems  inexplicable  excepting  through  the 
operation  of  clam-oppressed  stomachs.  So  the  ob- 
jects of  terror  were,  after  all,  but  mere  shadows.  And 
are  not  all  of  us  disturbed  and  distressed  by  shadows, 
shadows  that  are  flitting  every  where  about  the  path 
of  life,  shadows  as  innocent  as  moon  and  wind-mill 
ever  formed  ?  The  wind  was  now  dead  east  with  the 
offending  mill. 

It  was  natural  enough  that  those  wandering  digni- 
taries should  be  greatly  mortified  at  the  ludicrous 
occurrence,  and  that  they  should  have  wrangled  some- 
what among  themselves  as  to  who  should  bear  the 
blame  of  creating  the  disturbance.  They  disputed 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  remainder  of  the  night,  tossing 
about  on  their  beds,  and  now  and  them  emphasizing 
a  point  by  a  blow  upon  the  board  partition  that  made 
all  ring  again.  No  satisfactory  result  was,  however, 
arrived  at.  And  the  character  of  the  mill  was  vigor- 
ously maligned  as  one  or  another,  in  nervous  excite- 
ment, hopped  from  his  bed  to  take  a  surly  look  at  its 
defiant  arms  still  boldly  swinging  in  the  moonlight. 

The  household  were  astir  betimes  in  the  morning 
though  the  blessings  of  sleep  had  been  but  sparingly 
enjoyed  by  most  of  them.  The  committee-men  each 
took  a  draught  of  wormwood  tea,  on  the  recommen- 
dation of  Mr.  Humfrey,  who  believed  it  to  be  a  valuable 
stomach-rectifier.  And  then  they  took  a  turn  about 
the  premises,  snuffed  the  invigorating  morning  air  as 
it  swept  cheerily  over  the  water  ;  calculated  the  time 
by  the  sun,  watches  being  then  almost  unknown  ; 
looked  at  their  horses  ;  studied  the  points  of  Mr. 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  8 1 

Humfrey's  cow,  pigs,  goats,  and  poultry.  A  sly  glance 
was  now  and  then  directed  toward  the  mill,  which 
still  swung  on  majestically,  the  night-miller  having 
retired  and  a  fresh  hand  taken  his  place.  Then  they 
partook  of  a  savory  breakfast,  at  which  they  were 
rather  more  silent  than  at  the  meal  of  the  previous 
evening.  Not  a  word  was  said  about  the  occurrences 
of  the  night.  The  morning  was  balmy  and  all  nature 
wore  a  pleasant  aspect.  But  the  wind  was  still  dead 
east  with  the  mill. 

They  sallied  forth  with  an  alacrity  that  evidently 
meant  business,  and  boldly  entered  the  precincts  of 
the  mill.  The  miller  was  a  little  surly,  for  he  had 
been  called  from  his  bed  at  an  earlier  hour  than 
suited  his  convenience,  and  gave  occasion  for  the 
examiners  to  speak  sharply  of  his  unaccommodating 
manners.  They  noted  the  running  of  the  stones  as 
carefully  as  a  good  physician  notes  the  pulse  of  his 
patient ;  they  snuffed  over  the  hopper,  and  felt  of  the 
warm  meal  as  it  shot  into  the  trough ;  they  peered 
into  crannies  where  they  could  not  creep ;  poked 
their  sticks  into  the  rat  holes  ;  examined  the  miller 
in  the  catechism  and  made  him  repeat  the  ten  com- 
mandments, which  he  could  only  do  in  a  very  blun- 
dering way ;  questioned  him  closely  about  the  daily 
labors  of  the  mill,  the  customers,  their  bringings-in 
and  their  takings-out,  and  attentively  conned  his  strag- 
gling chalk-scores  on  the  side  of  the  hopper.  In 
short,  they  did  all  that  a  discreet  and  honest  commit- 
tee could  or  ought  to  do.  And  they  came  forth  from 
the  mill  as  one  might  say  besmeared  with  evidence 
of  their  faithfulness  ;  for  the  roguish  miller  had  found 
D*  6 


82  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

means  to  give  every  one  a  thorough  powdering  in 
return  for  their  testy  compliments  to  him. 

The  exterior  of  the  structure  was  then  to  be  sur- 
veyed. The  machinery  was  stopped,  and  they  paused 
under  the  lee,  where  they  sat  down  on  a  flat  rock,  to 
calculate  some  measurements.  They  had  suggested 
to  Mr.  Humfrey  that  his  presence  could  be  dispensed 
with  for  a  while,  and  he  had  gone  down  to  the  beach 
to  make  some  arrangement  with  the  clams  respect- 
ing the  mid-day  meal.  The  wind  now  began  to 
haul  out  of  the  east,  with  the  mill,  and  things  were 
looking  more  cheerful.  They  sat  there,  absorbed  in 
their  duties,  when  all  of  a  sudden,  and  without  the 
slightest  warning,  they  were  every  one,  excepting  the 
chairman,  knocked  heels  over  head  ;  a*id  he,  poor 
man,  was  taken  by  the  skirts  of  his  outer  garment, 
and  sent  flying  up  on  high,  kicking  and  shrieking  in 
the  most  dreadful  manner.  The  disaster  occurred  in 
this  way :  they  had,  Mr.  Humfrey  not  being  present 
to  caution  them,  grouped  themselves  just  within  the 
sweep  of  the  great  arms  ;  and  the  rascally  miller, 
perceiving  another  chance  to  retaliate  for  what  he 
chose  to  consider  their  insults,  had,  through  the  insti- 
gation of  the  very  evil  one  himself,  set  the  machinery 
going.  It  is  fair,  however,  to  say  that  he  positively 
denied  this,  and  declared  that  the  mill  started  of  its 
own  accord.  It  is  a  wonder  that  the  heads  of  the 
unwary  men  were  not  fairly  knocked  off  and  rolled 
down  the  hill,  and  that  the  chairman  was  not  torn 
limb  from  limb.  But  no  one  received  fatal  injury. 
They  were,  however,  considerably  damaged  ;  so  much 
so  that  most  of  them  were  laid  up  for  months.  It 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  83 

was  some  days  before  they  could  be  removed  to  their 
homes  ;  and  when  they  were  bundled  off  they  looked 
like  so  many  swaddled  and  patched  mummies.  They 
could  not  report  during  that  session.  And  when  the 
report  did  come,  a  perfect  hurricane  from  the  east 
roared  all  through  it.  The  mill,  it  said,  was  "  spetially 
dangrous  ; "  and  the  miller  was  called  a  "  fowl  bragrt." 
They  mercilessly  denied  it  every  good  quality  that  a 
decent  mill  should  possess.  And  instead  of  reporting 
as  agreed  upon  on  the  evening  of  the  clam  feast,  when 
the  wind  was  west  with  it,  that  it  was  an  institution 
as  worthy  of  encouragement  as  the  college  at  Cam- 
bridge, they  recommended  that  it  be  forthwith  torn 
down  and  the  miller  severely  whipped,  both  at  Lynn 
and  Boston.  But  it  does  not  appear  whether  or  not 
their  recommendation  was  carried  into  effect. 

The  last  duties  of  Mr.  Humfrey  as  a  member  of  the 
General  Court  were  performed  in  1641.  In  October 
of  that  year  he  left  the  country  and  returned  to  Eng- 
land where  he  died  in  1661.  There  is  no  doubt,  as 
before  intimated,  that  his  services  were  of  great  value 
to  the  infant  Bay  Colony,  and  that  his  character  was  of 
a  high  order.  Governor  Winthrop  speaks  of  him  as 
"  a  gentleman  of  special  parts  of  learning  and  activity, 
and  a  godly  man."  His  children  were,  John,  Joseph, 
Theophilus,  Ann,  Dorcas,  and  Sarah.  And  a  petition 
to  the  probate  court,  June  29,  1681,  states  that  Ann 
was  then  the  only  surviving  child.  Few  descendants 
of  another  generation  seem  to  have  appeared.  And 
from  the  claims  that  Ann  made  to  the  estate  here,  it 
is  inferred  that  no  other  heir  was  known. 


84  H.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

Of  the  ultimate  fate  of  Dorcas  and  Sarah,  the 
unfortunate  victims  of  Fairfield,  Hudson,  and  Davis, 
little  is  certainly  known ;  and  tradition  has  given 
divers  accounts.  A  few  years  ago  I  had  occasion  to 
relate  in  print  something  concerning  one  of  them. 
But  subsequent  inquiries  developed  other  facts  ;  and 
I  shall  now  proceed  to  give  the  account  which  seems 
on  the  whole  most  authentic. 

After  the  lamentable  occurrences  referred  to,  and 
the*  disappearance  of  her  parents  from  the  country, 
by  the  intervention  of  one  of  her  father's  friends  and 
the  sanction  of  the  Court,  Dorcas  was  placed  in  a 
very  worthy  family  in  Boston,  where  she  was  watched 
over  and  nurtured  with  the  tenderest  care.  The  best 
means  were  provided  for  her  education,  and  as  time 
passed  on,  she  seemed  to  common  observation  to  have 
entirely  recovered  from  the  blight  suffered  in  her 
earlier  years.  She  possessed  such  striking  graces 
of  person  that  even  the  rude  wayfarer  often  paused  to 
admire.  And  her  expanding  intellect  exhibited  such 
clearness  of  comprehension  and  brilliancy  as  placed 
her  at  once  among  the  most  brightly  shining  lights 
in  that  little  community. 

She  delighted  in  books,  and  the  few  small  libraries 
of  the  ministers  and  others  were  ransacked  for  stray 
volumes  of  the  poets  and  tales  of  the  romancing  trav- 
elers. She  was  charmed  with  the  beautiful  in  nature, 
and  by  the  pencil  transferred  to  canvas  many  of  the 
pleasant  and  romantic  scenes  about  her  endeared 
home,  with  marvelous  success.  And  she  loved  occa- 
sionally to  stroll  away  alone  among  the  fields  and 
groves  upon  the  river  bank,  and  by  the  seashore, 


JOHN     HUMFREY.  85 

returning  with  her  gathered  treasures  of  flowers,  glit- 
tering shells,  and  sketches  of  bright  scenes.  But  the 
indulgence  of  this  inclination  was  interrupted  in  a 
sudden  and  singular  manner. 

As  she  was  one  evening  seated  on  a  rock  that 
commanded  a  charming  view,  and  had  lingered  till 
the  shades  of  night  were  fast  closing  in,  she  was 
startled  by  a  quick  rustling  among  the  bushes.  And 
then  the  sprightly  Sunny  Wave  bounded  to  her  side. 
Instantly  the  Indian  maid  seized  her  hand,  and  with 
her  great  lustrous  eyes  beaming  full  in  the  alarmed 
face  to  which  they  were  turned,  in  an  agitated  under- 
tone ejaculated,  "  Bad  white  man  ;  make  himself  like 
Indian  ;  hunt  you.  He  watch  now.  Go,  go  quick  ; 
very  quick ! "  Amazed  at  this  sudden  warning,  she 
was  about  to  interrogate  the  dusky  apparition,  when 
the  latter,  with  a  gentle  push,  and  at  the  same  time 
thrusting  into  her  hand  a  bunch  of  magnolias,  hastily 
repeated  her  last  injunction  — "  Go,  go  quick ;  very 
quick ! "  —  and  vanished. 

Without  stopping  to  speculate  as  to  the  cause  or 
the  reasonableness  of  the  apparently  friendly  visit,  she 
took  the  safe  course  and  speedily  withdrew  homeward. 
Informing  her  friends  of  the  singular  warning,  they 
were  as  much  puzzled  as  she,  and  more  apprehensive. 
But  the  next  day  the  mystery  was  in  a  measure  solved, 
information  being  received  that  a  lawless  young  scion 
of  nobility  then  lately  from  England  had  been  dogging 
her  steps  from  point  to  point,  disguised  as  an  Indian. 
It  was  evident  that  Sunny  Wave  had  observed  his 
conduct,  discovered  his  disguise,  watched  him,  and 
given  seasonable  alarm. 


86  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

This  incident  was  quite  sufficient  to  deter  Dorcas 
from  again  often  venturing  on  her  rambles  unaccom- 
panied. But  with  companions,  and  especially  when 
she  could  have  the  bright  and  watchful  Indian  girl 
at  hand,  she  still  continued  to  enjoy  her  strolls. 

In  the  social  circle,  especially,  Dorcas  shone  ;  and 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  she  had  many  admir- 
ers of  the  other  sex.  That  she  had  susceptible  feel- 
ings is  very  true  ;  but  there  was  that  train  of  sad 
memories  which  induced  in  her  the  exercise  of  a 
degree  of  wariness  that  might  easily  be  mistaken  for 
overstrained  fastidiousness.  And  it  was  in  her  lonely 
hours,  when  the  most  painful  reflections  pressed  upon 
her,  enveloping  in  a  gloomy  mist  all  her  earthly  hopes 
and  aspirations,  that  her  thoughts  began  to  be  directed 
to  higher  objects  for  rest  and  comfort. 

Her  weary,  panting  soul  yearned  for  something  on 
which  it  might  lean  and  pour  out  the  fervid  tide  of  its 
love.  And  what  could  present  itself  as  a  more  worthy 
object  than  religion.  In  her  worldly  career  remem- 
brances of  the  errors  of  her  early  life  would  constantly 
spring  up  to  darken  her  way  and  impede  her  progress  ; 
jealousies,  envyings,  and  rivalries  would  keep  alive 
the  fatal  knowledge  ;  and  the  prospect  seemed  dreary 
and  waste.  But  in  the  calm  sunshine  of  religion  the 
shadows  might  be  dissolved  and  the  waste  places 
made  fruitful.  And  no  impediment  appeared  in  the 
better  way ;  for  the  greater  the  evil  turned  from  the 
more  ardent  the  love  evolved. 

In  early  womanhood,  then,  with  earnest  persistency 
and  intelligent  concern,  she  began  to  direct  her  medi- 
tations to  those  loftier  themes.  With  the  elders  and 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  8/ 

ministers,  and  pious  women,  she  conversed  much, 
and  the  old  theological  tomes  of  the  parsonage  library 
were  perseveringly  conned,  for  her  trained  intellect, 
not  being  controlled  by  the  merely  emotional,  de- 
manded the  wherefore  of  doctrine  and  rule.  In  her 
life  the  good  fruits  began  soon  to  appear.  The  widow 
and  fatherless  were  visited  in  their  affliction,  and 
many  an  erring  one  was  drawn  back  to  the  path  of 
rectitude.  The  humble  homes  of  the  forlorn  and 
distressed  were  made  glad  by  her  visits,  and  the  indi- 
gent of  every  class  were  cheered  by  her  sympathy 
and  benevolence.  Yet  her  social  delights  were  by 
no  means  extinguished  by  her  new  conceptions  and 
duties,  for  not  a  throb  of  misanthropy  stirred  her 
heart.  She  still  loved  to  join  in  the  merry-makings 
of  her  young  companions  ;  and  her  cordial  sympathies, 
winning  ways,  and  active  participation  in  passing 
scenes,  which  so  early  won  for  her  a  welcome  in 
every  neighborhood  gathering,  still  made  her  presence 
eagerly  sought.  Indeed  her  new  profession  had  given 
additional  strength  to  her  social  character,  for  the  old 
clouds  that  were  accustomed  to  flit  up  at  any  moment, 
had  been  dissipated,  or  rather  gilded  by  the  vivifying 
light  within,  and  no  longer  cast  their  ghastly  shadows 
over  innocent  enjoyment. 

But  it  was  with  great  concern  that  the  worthy 
pastor  on  whose  ministrations  Dorcas  attended,  began 
to  perceive  that  her  love  for  the  faith  in  which  she 
had  been  nurtured  was  fast  loosening.  Indeed,  with 
the  cold  and  stern  theology  that  then  prevailed,  her 
warm  heart  could  not  fully  sympathize,  and  she  fast 
tended  toward  the  revered  old  mother  church,  whose 


88  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

sublime  ritual  and  meet  observances  have  captivated 
so  many  intelligent  minds  reared  in  the  newer  and 
harsher  faith.  There  were  at  this  time  but  a  small 
number  of  Episcopalians  in  the  Colony,  and  they  had 
no  place  of  worship.  The  few  in  Boston  were  accus- 
tomed to  occasionally  meet  in  a  private  room,  to 
engage  in  the  beautiful  service  set  forth  in  their 
beloved  book  of  prayer.  But  even  these  half-stealthy 
meetings  they  could  not  enjoy  without  suffering  taunts 
if  indeed  they  escaped  with  no  greater  molestation. 
Yet,  as  persecution  for  one's  faith  is  not  apt  to  lessen 
his  attachment  to  it,  they  were  persisted  in.  And 
but  two  or  three  generations  had  passed  away  before 
the  Church  became  a  power  in  the  land.  Her  influ- 
ence through  her  whole  history  here  has  been  such 
as  every  true  Christian  must  applaud.  Whatever 
may  have  been  her  character  and  conduct  in  the  old 
world,  here,  she  has  set  an  example  of  tolerance  and 
godly  life  worthy  of  imitation  by  some  of  far  greater 
pretension.  Our  heroine,  after  entering  the  little  fold 
of  the  Church  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  her  way, 
never  swerving  from  the  faith  she  loved  nor  unsea- 
sonably obtruding  her  views. 

But  did  not  that  gentle  heart,  during  its  years  of 
perplexity  and  inward  toil,  its  years  of  exposure  and 
temptation,  sometimes  yearn  for  parental  counsel  and 
guidance  ?  And  can  it  be  that  those  parents  who 
had  rejoiced  over  her  birth,  had  lost  her  image  from 
their  hearts  ?  When  in  their  luxurious  home  beyond 
the  blue  wave,  greeting  the  fair  and  the  brave  amid 
sparkling  lights  and  inspiring  music  strains,  or  when 
wakeful  upon  their  bed  at  the  solemn  midnight  hour, 


JOHN   HUMFREY.  89 

did  they  have  no  thought  for  their  once  dear  offspring, 
regarding  whose  fate  they  had  reason  to  entertain 
the  most  painful  apprehensions  ?  There  is  mystery 
about  the  whole  matter.  It  cannot  be  believed  that 
her  father,  whose  acts  and  epistles  uniformly  in- 
dicate a  broad  benevolence  and  impressible  heart, 
could  have  so  strangely  forgotten  his  duties  or  utterly 
abandoned  his  offspring.  No,  no,  he  must  have  longed 
to  clasp  the  returned  wanderer  to  his  breast  amid 
the  gushing  tears  of  mutual  joy.  Why  then  did  he 
not  seek  her  out,  for  she  might  easily  have  been 
found,  and  restore  her,  blooming,  beautiful,  and  puri- 
fied, to  a  home  among  the  noble  and  refined  —  a 
home  which  she  appears  to  have  been  well  fitted  to 
adorn  ?  The  question  can  only  be  asked.  And  the 
mother  who  bore  her  —  what  can  we  think  of  her  ? 

Among  the  families  in  which  Dorcas  was  kindly 
received,  at  Boston,  was  that  of  a  French  gentleman 
of  refinement  and  wealth.  And  in  process  of  time, 
proposing  to  return  to  his  native  country,  at  the 
urgent  solicitation  of  his  wife  and  daughter,  he  invited 
her  to  accompany  them  for  a  temporary  residence  in 
Paris.  She  was  delighted  with  the  opportunity  to 
visit  a  foreign  land,  especially  such  a  genial  one  as 
France,  and  her  friends  interposing  no  objection, 
her  preparations  for  the  voyage  were  soon  made. 
That  she  might  be  the  better  prepared  for  the  new 
scenes  in  prospect,  she  industriously  set  about  acquir- 
ing the  French  language  ;  and  by  the  efficient  aid  of 
the  family  she  was  to  accompany  became  a  proficient 
in  a  wonderfully  short  period. 

In  due  time  they  arrived  in  France,  and  Dorcas 


9O  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

prepared  to  enter  with  the  zest  characteristic  of  her 
naturally  ardent  temperament  upon  the  course  that 
lay  before  her,  all  still  veiled  in  mystery.  With  true 
modesty,  but  with  the  common  fondness  of  her  sex, 
she  received  the  flatteries  and  caresses  of  the  gay  and 
polite  people  by  whom  she  found  herself  surrounded, 
and  presently  contracted  a  somewhat  unpromising 
relish  for  the  gaities  of  her  new  sphere.  Yet  her 
refined  taste  and  cultivated  mind  led  her  to  take  more 
real  delight  in  visiting  the  galleries  of  art,  the  libra- 
ries and  other  objects  of  higher  interest.  But  to  the 
dim  old  churches  she  often  repaired  ;  and  there,  in 
the  dreamy  light  that  streamed  through  the  lofty  and 
gorgeously  tinted  windows,  beheld  the  imposing  wor- 
ship with  an  awe  she  had  never  before  felt  in  a  house 
dedicated  to  the  Most  High.  The  fretted  arches  and 
lofty  columns,  the  golden  altars  and  glowing  lights, 
the  pictures  and  statuary  of  marvelous  dignity  and 
beauty,  the  robed  priests  and  uniformed  orders,  the 
solemn  chants  and  organ  symphonies  —  all  conspired 
to  make  the  humble  appointments  of  the  rude  sanctu- 
ary of  her  own  home  rise  up  in  contrast  almost 
grotesque.  And  there  is  no  wonder  that  a  mind 
constituted  like  hers  —  with  a  deep  love  for  the  har- 
monious and  appropriate,  an  awe  for  the  grand  and 
imposing,  a  veneration  for  the  ancient,  and  a  tendency 
to  devotional  fervor  —  should  have  been  insensibly 
attracted  to  the  old  faith  and  its  impressive  forms 
of  worship. 

But  few  months  had  passed  when  her  friends  per- 
ceived the  bent  her  mind  had  taken,  and  to  their 
inquiries  she  frankly  declared  her  views.  They  had 


JOHN    HUMFREY.  9! 

themselves  been  bred  in  the  Catholic  church — though 
at  that  period  the  famous  Edict  of  Nantes  was  still 
in  force  —  but  during  their  residence  in  America  had 
no  opportunity  to  worship  according  to  her  ritual. 
On  returning  to  their  native  land,  however,  their 
early  love  revived,  and  they  went  back,  like  glad  chil- 
dren to  a  revered  mother.  Under  such  circumstances, 
of  course,  their  endeared  charge  would  be  welcomed 
to  the  fold. 

And  so  the  time  passed  on.  Dorcas  embraced  her 
new  faith  with  ardor,  and  sought  instruction  on  points 
of  doctrine  and  worship  with  the  same  zeal  and  intel- 
ligence that  had  characterized  her  inquiries  respecting 
the  faith  she  had  now  abandoned.  And  she  was  soon 
reckoned  a  sincere  and  faithful  daughter  of  the  ancient 
church. 

Her  accomplishments,  and  the  standing  of  her 
friends  had  placed  her  in  a  high  social  position. 
Their  means  were  ample,  and  their  generosity,  with 
which  was  perhaps  mingled  a  little  pride,  prompted 
them  to  supply  every  reasonable  want.  Her  admirers 
were  many,  but  her  good  sense  proved  a  strong  safe- 
guard against  the  unworthy  —  though  such  safeguard, 
unhappily,  is  not  always  impregnable. 

But  did  she  never,  while  thus  flitting  in  the  world's 
gay  capital,  the  radiant  centre  of  a  charmed  circle, 
cast  a  look  back  upon  the  scenes  of  her  early  home  — 
never  glance  to  the  verdant  hill-top,  where,  in  the 
shadow  of  the  great  creaking  wind-mill,  she  had  so 
often  gambolled  —  to  the  sparkling  beaches  which 
she  had  so  often  trod  with  bounding  step,  gathering 
shells  and  mosses  and  glittering  pebbles  —  to  the 


92  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

blithsome  summer  hours,  when  with  her  sisters  and 
the  neighboring  maidens,  and  the  bright  little  Sunny 
Wave,  she  had  bathed  in  the  waters  that  rolled  in 
whispering  lines  almost  to  her  father's  door  —  to  the 
cheery  times  when  no  shadow  had  fallen  upon  her, 
and  all  within  and  without  was  bright  and  cheerful  ? 
And  then  did  she  not  recur,  with  grievous  pangs,  to 
the  sad  hours  when  the  murky  mists  began  to  arise, 
enveloping  her  in  their  blighting  folds  —  to  the  adieus 
of  her  parents,  who  so  departed  on  the  wide  ocean 
track,  leaving  her  to  the  protection  and  guidance  of 
such  as  she  well  knew  to  be  eminently  unworthy  — 
to  that  darker  cloud  that  so  soon  fell  upon  her,  in  its 
dismal  folds  enwrapping  every  fair  prospect,  and  for 
the  time  blasting  her  very  soul's  health  —  to  her  even 
then  lonely  condition,  without  the  sympathy  of  kin- 
dred and  with  a  future  of  drear  uncertainty  ?  We 
are  all  so  constituted  that  experiences  like  hers  will 
sometimes  send  their  shadows  up  from  the  mys- 
terious depths  of  memory  like  troublous  ghosts.  But 
memories  of  a  brighter  cast  were  also  hers.  And 
when  the  recollection  of  the  peaceful  girlhood  days 
she  had  passed  in  Boston,  under  the  protection  of 
those  kind  friends  who  had  rescued,  encouraged,  and 
consoled  her,  came  up,  her  heart  must  have  taken 
fresh  courage. 

The  tradition  goes  on  to  add  that  after  a  considera- 
ble period  of  triumph  in  the  fashionable  world  of 
Paris,  our  heroine  became  the  betrothed  of  a  wealthy 
young  count.  And  as  the  time  for  the  consummation 
of  the  espousals  approached,  scorning  every  thing  like 
deception  or  concealment,  she  took  measures  to  have 


JOHN   HUMFREY.  93 

the  family  of  her  affianced  fully  informed  of  her  past 
life.  The  grievous  tidings  first  created  a  coldness  and 
then  a  vigorous  opposition,  on  the  part  of  the  mother 
of  the  count,  to  the  uriion.  And  suffice  it  to  say,  the 
marriage  was  never  solemnized.  Then  days  of  dark- 
ness again  arose  upon  her.  The  cause  of  the  blight 
in  her  fair  prospects  becoming  generally  known  in 
the  gay  circle  where  she  had  been  accustomed  to 
move,  and  feeling  that  the  finger  of  scorn  might  be 
pointed  to  her  at  every  turn,  with  an  almost  broken 
heart  she  withdrew  into  England.  She  had  letters  of 
introduction  to  good  families  and  soon  in  a  measure 
recovered  her  spirits.  By  her  accomplishments  and 
natural  gifts  she  presently  found  herself  in  refined 
and  elevated  society — again  the  centre  of  a  charmed 
circle.  But  from  some  cause  which  in  the  mysterious 
workings  of  the  human  mind  cannot  be  explained, 
her  views  of  moral  rectitude  seem  to  have  changed  ; 
or  perhaps  her  recent  sad  experience  induced  a  sort 
of  abandonment  which  sometimes  will,  in  spite  of 
every  effort,  like  an  irruption  of  unsanctified  nature, 
assert  itself.  Without,  however,  pretending  to  estab- 
lish a  reason  for  the  apparent  change  in  her,  we 
can  only  say  that  at  no  distant  period  she  is  found 
in  the  guilty  position  of  mistress  to  a  young  scion 
of  one  of  the  most  noble  families  —  a  sort  of  connec- 
tion which,  however,  at  that  time  and  in  such  society, 
was  not  regarded  with  deserved  detestation. 

This  disreputable  connection  continued  for  a  con- 
siderable period.  She  was  supplied  with  means  suffi- 
cient for  the  indulgence  of  every  reasonable  desire,  by 
her  liberal  friend,  and  made  a  full  return  in  affection 


94  II-      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

and  social  entertainment.  But  with  her  just  sense 
of  rectitude,  and  especially  with  her  memory  of  the 
sad  episode  in  her  earlier  life,  it  cannot  be  imagined 
that  she  had  any  truly  happy  hours. 

A  bitter  end  usually  comes  to  all  such  unholy  con- 
nections. And  the  case  of  this  erring  one  was  no 
exception  to  the  common  rule.  The  young  nobleman 
suddenly  died,  without  making  any  provision  for  her 
future.  And  his  family,  of  course  deeming  themselves 
far  from  any  obligation,  left  her  to  wither  away  in 
penury. 

Then  there  are  traditions  of  her  having  entered  the 
dramatic  profession  and  of  her  successes  and  triumphs 
upon  the  theatrical  boards  —  even  of  her  blazing  forth 
as  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude ;  though  at  what 
precise  period  of  her  residence  in  England  this  took 
place  does  not  appear. 

It  may  be  a  wonder  that  while  in  England  she  did 
not  seek  out  her  father  and  family  connections,  for 
her  heart  must  have  suffered  sore  affliction  at  the  long 
and  strange  separation  from  all  with  whom  she  could 
claim  kindred.  True  we  do  not  know  but  she  did 
endeavor  to  search  them  out  But  it  is  probable  that 
she  did  not,  as  they  no  doubt  could  easily  have  been 
found  and  would  have  provided  for  all  her  wants.  It 
may  rather  be  concluded  that  her  naturally  high  spirit 
prevailed  and  prevented  her  ever  appearing  in  what 
she  feared  might  be  deemed  the  character  of  a  sup- 
pliant. Be  that,  however,  as  it  may. 

Then  we  find  that  after  a  long  season  of  indigence 
and  depression,  her  devotional  feelings  revived  in  fresh 
vigor,  and  she  received  new  consolations  from  religion. 


JOHN   HUMFREY.       »  95 

With  the  utmost  diligence  she  strove  to  regain  what 
she  had  lost  in  the  Christian  race,  and  was  soon  blest 
by  the  renewed  sympathies  of  pious  friends.  She 
now  led  an  exemplary  life,  fulfilling  her  Christian 
duties  with  zeal  and  fidelity.  Her  worldly  condition, 
however,  was  such  that  instead  of  having  means  to 
bestow  in  charity  she  herself  was  in  need.  But  in 
humbleness  of  heart  she  labored  on,  cheered  by  the 
sure  promise  of  reward  to  all  such  as  do  their  utmost. 

Her  devotional  feelings  waxing  warmer  and  warmer, 
and  the  attractions  of  the  world  fading  faster  and  faster 
away,  we  find  that  she  returned  to  France,  and  enter- 
ing the  peaceful  portals  of  a  convent  sought  the  repose 
her  poor  heart  so  much  needed. 

But  she  does  not  seem  to  have  ended  her  days  in 
that  calm  retreat.  For  the  tradition  adds  that  when 
considerably  advanced  in  years,  she  appeared  again 
in  her  native  land,  often,  as  a  lonely  wanderer,  visiting 
the  scenes  in  and  about  Boston,  which  had  so  attracted 
her  youthful  steps.  And  into  the  place  of  her  earlier 
years,  too,  she  would  roam  —  with  down-cast  eye 
pacing  along  the  still  beautiful  shores  as  if  listening 
to  the  tale  of  the  waves  as  they  rolled  whispering  at 
her  feet ;  or,  standing  upon  the  hill  where  erst  stood 
her  father's  renowned  mill,  thoughtfully  scanning  the 
broad  landscape.  And  what  recollections  must  those 
visits  have  called  up  ? 

And,  finally,  we  are  told,  that  near  the  scene  of  her 
childhood's  gambols  she  laid  down  her  weary  life  — 
her  fitful  dream  ending  in  penury  and  distress ;  but 
to  be  succeeded,  God  grant,  by  an  awakening  to  a 
life  of  joy  in  the  better  world. 


96  ill.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

It  may  be  thought  that  something  should  be  added 
respecting  the  other  daughters  of  Mr.  Humfrey.  Of 
Ann,  the  eldest,  it  may  be  remarked  that  she  married 
William  Palmer,  of  Ardfinan,  in  Ireland,  the  marriage 
taking  place  about  the  time  of  her  father's  leaving 
America.  And  it  was  to  this  sister  that  the  abused 
girls  first  made  known  what  had  taken  place.  Ann 
became  a  widow,  and  subsequently  married  the  Rev. 
John  Miles  of  Swanzey.  She  lived  to  a  mature  age, 
and  as  late  as  1681  claimed  title  by  inheritance  to 
some  of  the  Lynn  lands  —  among  them  the  charming 
locality  at  Swampscott  where  now  stands  the  baronial 
residence  of  the  late  Hon.  E.  R.  Mudge. 

Of  Sarah,  the  companion  of  Dorcas  in  error,  little 
or  nothing  is  with  certainty  known.  Many  years  ago 
there  was  a  mossy  grave-stone  in  the  most  ancient 
part  of  Copp's  Hill  burying  ground,  in  Boston,  bearing 
the  single  name  "  SARAH,"  and  beneath  it  the  Latin 
words  " Deo  Miserere"  An  intelligent  antiquary  once 
told  me  that  it  marked  the  spot  where  Sarah  Humfrey 
was  laid ;  that  she  died  in  degradation  and  destitution ; 
and  that  the  stone  was  erected,  a  long  time  after,  by 
her  sister. 

And  here,  without  devoting  any  more  space  to 
details  respecting  the  life  of  Mr.  Humfrey,  we  must 
close  our  sketch.  We  have  seen  that  he  had  a  full 
share  of  worldly  trouble ;  and  can  readily  perceive  that 
he  would  certainly  have  avoided  some  of  his  greatest 
calamities  had  he  pursued  a  different  course.  But 
in  pursuing  that  other  course,  who  can  tell  that  he 
would  not  have  fallen  into  still  greater  misfortunes. 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  97 

If  we  could  all,  with  docility  and  godly  discretion, 
receive  the  discipline  vouchsafed  by  a  kind  Providence, 
watchful  for  our  ultimate  good,  we  should  profit  much 
more  than  by  repining  and  speculating  as  to  what 
might  have  been.  And  regrets  for  the  errors  of  the 
past  are  of  small  worth  unless  they  lead  to  endeavors 
for  amendment  in  the  future. 


ROBERT  KEAYNE. 

MR.  KEAYNE  was  a  Representative  in  the  General 
Court,  from  Boston,  as  early  as  1638.  He  was  ad- 
mitted a  freeman  in  May,  1636,  having  probably 
arrived  in  the  country  a  few  months  before.  He  was 
a  marked  character,  and  his  name  appears  very  often 
on  the  Court  records  ;  a  name  which  is  otherwise 
rendered  immortal  from  his  having  been  the  first 
commander  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Company.  He  was  elected  at  its  organization,  in 
1638.  The  title  of  "Mr"  as  well  as  "Captn"  is 
found  attached  to  his  name,  on  the  records,  which  is 
sufficient  evidence  of  his  respectability,  "  Goodman  " 
having  been  the  title  of  those  in  mean  condition. 

His  business  was  that  of  a  merchant  tailor,  though 
he  engaged  in  divers  speculations  and  mercantile 
enterprises,  and  became  quite  rich.  Soon  after  his 
arrival  he  was  received  as  a  member  of  the  Boston 
church ;  and  it  is  evident  that  his  orthodoxy  and  his 
E  7 


98  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

loyalty  to  the  colonial  interests  and  authorities  were 
considered  perfectly  sound,  as  he  was  the  one  to 
whom  the  General  Court  ordered  the  arms  of  the 
adherents  of  Mr.  Wheelwright  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
to  be  surrendered  at  the  disarming,  in  1637. 

It  is  perhaps  well  in  this  place  to  say  a  few  words 
respecting  the  famous  military  organization  just  men- 
tioned, of  the  early  history  of  which  so  little  is  really 
known.  Mr.  Pinion,  among  his  jottings  for  March, 
1638,  says  :  "  Vppon  ye  opening  of  ye  sescion  mch 
adew  was  made  abl  ye  formeing  of  a  great  millytary 
companie,  a  peticon  haveing  bin  put  in  by  Mr  Kayne 
and  dyvers  others.  Som  wd  know  who  were  to  bee 
membrs,  and  haue  ym  cattykizd  on  poynts  of  doctrine, 
and  whethr  they  be  true  to  our  libertys  here,  for,  sayd 
they,  it  may  bee  but  a  cunninglie  layd  plann  of  ye 
devill  to  get  ye  vpper  hand  and  make  spoyl  of  vs  all. 
Who  knoweth  but  our  libertys  and  godlie  priviledges 
may  bee  forcd  from  vs,  wee,  by  graunting  this  peticon 
giveing  birth,  as  it  were,  to  a  cocatrice.  And  be  not 
som  who  now  petticon,  among  ym  yl  follow  after  a 
strange  wooman  ?  wch,  as  by  scripture,  leadeth  to 
destruccon." 

The  foregoing  has  reference  to  the  petition  of  Mr. 
Keayne  and  others,  presented  to  the  Court,  for  au- 
thority to  form  a  military  company,  the  head  quar- 
ters to  be  in  Boston,  but  embracing  members  from 
the  different  plantations.  It  had  early  become  appa- 
rent that  military  organizations  would  be  necessary 
for  the  safety  of  the  settlers,  not  only  to  repel  attacks 
of  the  savages,  but  to  inspire  a  wholesome  fear  in  the 
French  and  Dutch.  The  first  organizations  were 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  99 

local,  and  called  train-bands,  each  settlement  main- 
taining its  own.  But  it  was  of  course  soon  seen  that 
under  such  a  system  much  strength  would  be  lost 
when  there  was  a  general  call  for  troops  to  serve  in 
any  important  campaign,  because  of  diversity  of  or- 
ganization and  mode  of  discipline.  The  purpose, 
then,  was  to  form  a  sort  of  military  regulator  and 
school  of  tactics.  There  was,  however,  as  Mr.  Pinion 
intimates,  considerable  opposition  among  certain  of 
the  Representatives,  who  were  more  careful  of  their 
doctrine  than  their  works  —  a  sort  of  individual  not 
entirely  unknown  in  other  periods  of  the  world's 
history.  The  circumstance  that  some  of  the  petition- 
ers were  adherents  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson  gave  point  to 
the  opposition,  they  being  the  ones  whom  the  jour- 
nalist characterizes  as  following  after  a  "  strange 
wooman."  It  was  probably  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Keayne's  name  that  carried  the  measure  through,  for 
he  was,  as  just  intimated,  imbued  with  puritanical 
salt  of  the  most  unquestioned  savor. 

The  charter  was  obtained.  And  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  June,  1638,  the  renowned  Ancient  and  Hon- 
orable Artillery  Company  was  formed,  liberty  being 
allowed  them  to  use  the  public  arms.  It  was  not  at 
first  an  artillery  company ;  and  they  did  not  probably 
obtain  field-pieces  till  the  year  1657.  The  title  given 
in  the  charter  is,  "  The  Millitary  Company  of  the  Mas- 
sachusets."  On  receiving  the  cannon  it  was  called 
The  Artillery  Company,  or  The  Great  Artillery.  As 
late  as  1691,  Cotton  Mather,  in  his  election  sermon, 
calls  it  The  Artillery  Company.  In  1708,  Mr.  Dan- 
forth,  in  the  title-page  of  his  sermon,  prefixes  the 


II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 


word  "Honourable."  Finally,  in  1738,  Dr.  Colman, 
who  preached  the  centennial  sermon,  gives  the  full 
title — Honorable  and  Ancient  Artillery  Company. 
The  records  of  the  Company,  however,  give  the  title 
Ancient  and  Honorable,  as  early  as  1700.  At  the 
organization,  Mr.  Keayne  was  elected  Captain. 

The  Company  has  suffered  a  few  intervals  of  sus- 
pended animation  —  during  the  Andros  administration 
and  the  Revolution,  lying  for  a  time  hard  at  death's 
door  —  but,  thanks  to  timely  legislative  doctoring, 
has  survived,  and  is  now  in  vigorous  health.  But 
yet  the  Company  is  at  the  present  day,  to  all  intents, 
an  organization  without  a  purpose,  excepting  perhaps 
the  purpose  of  having  a  good  time  once  or  twice  a 
year  ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  grateful  memories  that 
cluster  around  it,  would  probably  soon  close  its  record. 
But  its  officers  still  continue  to  be  elected  on  the  first 
Monday  of  June  ;  and  the  pleasant  holiday  of  Artillery 
Election  continues  to  be  honored  by  a  parade,  a 
sermon,  and  a  bountiful  dinner ;  and  the  Governor 
dispenses  the  commissions  from  his  seat  on  Boston 
Common.  And  may  the  venerable  organization,  be- 
gun for  a  praiseworthy  object,  under  the  fostering 
care  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  long  continue,  in 
its  pleasant  way  linking  the  past  with  the  present.* 

*  But  there  was  another  "  Election  Day,"  which  for  some  two 
hundred  years  was  observed  as  one  of  the  principal  holidays  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. It  occurred  on  the  last  Wednesday  of  May,  the  day  on 
which  the  General  Court,  acting  as  a  court  of  elections,  chose  the 
Governor  and  other  chief  officers  for  the  year.  This  election  day  was 
established  at  the  beginning  of  the  government,  and  in  1831  was  by 
the  General  Court  abolished  amid  many  lamentations.  For  many 
years,  it  was  very  generally  known  as  "  Nigger  'lection ; "  receiving 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  IOI 

But  about  those  dinners  which  the  Company  annu- 
ally sit   down   to,  with   their  invited  guests.     It  is 

that  rather  questionable  appellation,  some  have  imagined,  merely  to 
distinguish  it  from  Artillery  Election.  But  the  true  reason  was  that 
all  the  negro  slaves  in  Massachusetts,  as  long  as  slavery  existed  here, 
were  allowed  a  vacation  of  four  days,  beginning  on  that  day.  In  imi- 
tation of  their  masters,  they  then  assembled  in  the  different  neighbor- 
hoods and  elected  rulers  for  themselves  —  rulers,  however,  without 
power  and  without  subjects.  But  they  enjoyed  their  mock  proceedings 
with  the  keenest  relish.  And  they  had  a  right  jolly  time  during  the 
whole  four  days  of  this  annual  respit.  The  serene  gravity  of  the 
ebony  officers  elected  and  the  extreme  obsequiousness  of  their  subjects, 
are  said  to  have  furnished  most  instructive  as  well  as  amusing  lessons. 
Dancing  was  a  favorite  diversion,  and  one  sometimes  engaged  in  to 
an  annoying  extent.  Election  dance-houses  became  established  insti- 
tutions, and  away  down  to  within  seventy  years  were  much  resorted  to 
by  blacks,  and  by  whites  too,  of  the  lower  order.  Day  and  night  danc- 
ing, drinking,  and  diversiform  carousing  went  on  within  their  portals. 

But  the  good  old  "  'lection-cake  "  must  not  be  forgotten ;  and  pro- 
bably never  will  be,  by  such  as  have  been  blest  by  a  taste.  Every 
householder  was  expected  to  provide  an  abundance  of  it.  It  was  a 
cheap  kind  of  cake,  made  of  raised  dough,  sweetened  and  slightly 
spiced,  and  baked  in  round  cakes,  of  perhaps  six  inches  in  diameter, 
the  top  made  glossy  by  the  white  of  egg. 

Boston  Common  presented  a  notable  scene  on  Election  days.  All 
sorts  of  sports  and  small  gaming  were  going  on  among  the  animated 
multitude,  who  appeared  in  their  holiday  attire,  the  colored  brethren 
and  sisters,  especially,  with  their  faces  as  shining  as  the  cake. 

Egg-nog  and  election-cake  came  to  be  the  prescriptive  gustatory 
offerings  of  the  season,  about  as  much  as  turkey  and  plum  pudding  are 
now  those  of  Thanksgiving.  In  the  country,  if  the  weather  was  favor- 
able, the  population  seemed  to  feel  it  incumbent  to  be  abroad,  ready 
to  join  in  pleasure  excursions  and  all  kinds  of  rural  sports.  Indeed 
the  day  appeared  much  as  the  fourth  of  July  now  does  ;  but  with  the 
desirable  absence  of  hot  weather,  bell-ringing,  and  vile  powder-burning. 

For  some  two  hundred  years,  as  before  remarked,  did  good  old 
Election  survive  ;  but  now,  alas,  is  almost  forgotten.  Were  not  these 
temperance  times  and  I  a  temperance  man,  I  could  but  recommend 
that  on  each  returning  anniversary  we  all  join  in  a  cup  o'  kindness,  in 
the  shape  of  egg-nog,  for  that  great  day  of  langsyne. 


IO2  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

doubtful  whether  the  invisible  spirit  of  Capt.  Keayne, 
hovers  around  on  those  occasions  with  much  delight 
or  approval ;  for  though  in  his  will,  written  in  1652, 
he  kindly  remembers  his  pet  institution,  leaving  for 
it,  among  other  things,  two  heifers,  or  cows,  to  be 
kept  as  stock,  the  increase  or  profit  to  be  laid  out 
yearly  in  powder,  bullets,  &c.,  with  some  limitation, 
he  also  exhorts  them  not  to  spend  their  means  in 
"eating  and  drinking  and  needless  invitations  as  it 
hath  been  for  a  long  time,"  both  to  his  own  grief  and 
offence  and  the  scandal  of  several  of  the  Company, 
some  withdrawing  in  consequence  of  the  carousing, 
and  others  being  unwilling  to  pay  their  quarterages. 

The  early  records  of  the  Company  being  so  imper- 
fect, had  it  not  been  for  the  notes  of  Mr.  Pinion,  so 
fortunately  in  our  hands,  many  curious  facts  concern- 
ing their  early  parades  and  achievements  would  have 
been  forever  lost.  Dr.  Colman,  in  his  centennial 
sermon,  remarks  :  "  The  captains  awed  their  families 
and  neighbors  by  their  gravity  and  piety,  as  well  as 
frightened  their  enemies  by  their  boldness  and  firm- 
ness. The  natives  trembled  when  they  saw  them 
train,  and  old  as  well  as  young  stood  still  and  rever- 
enced them  as  they  passed  along  in  martial  order." 
If  all  this  was  done  a  hundred  years  after  their  organ- 
ization, what  must  have  been  done  at  first  ?  They 
do  not,  indeed,  inspire  precisely  such  feelings  as  they 
parade  at  the  present  day  ;  yet  they  receive  marked 
attention  and  respect. 

There  is  nothing  on  their  records,  or  on  the  records 
of  the  Court,  to  show  that  the  Company  had  a  uniform 
during  the  first  years  of  its  existence.  But  luckily 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  IO3 

Mr.  Pinion  has  supplied  all  that  seems  necessary  on 
that  point.  The  following  extract,  descriptive  of  an 
early  parade,  is  graphic  and  interesting : 

"  Last  third  day,  being  ye  feild  day  of  ye  Millytarie 
Companie,  there  was  a  great  parade,  ye  souldjers 
assembling  betimes  att  ye  great  oake.  [And  this 
appears  to  have  been  an  enormous  white  oak,  stand- 
ing just  about  the  present  junction  of  School  street 
and  Tremont.]  Two  lustie  drummers  and  a  mightie 
winded  trumpetter  made  ye  whole  towne  ring  wth 
alarrums  as  of  warr.  Ye  comical  turn  abl  ye  jewes- 
harpes  Captn  Kayne  will  not  haue  menciond  on  payne 
of  his  angr.  Ye  xrcise  began  earlie  in  ye  affnoone, 
and  aftr  manewvring  for  a  space,  they  were  formd  into 
ranks  of  four,  ye  roade  being  but  narrow,  and  made 
readie  to  march  fourth  towards  Rocksberry,  after 
prayr  by  Mr  Willson.  Their  xrcise  was  mch  aplawded 
by  ye  multitude  calld  forth  by  ye  occacion. 

"  They  were  uniform6  in  a  faire  manner,  all  haveing 
yello  breeches  of  leathr,  wlh  blew  ribbins  knotted  at 
ye  knees,  also  red  leggins  and  black  shews  wth  bigg 
shining  buckles.  They  had  doublets  of  green,  wth 
strips  of  yello  sewed  on.  Butt  their  coates  were 
mostlie  of  brown  or  gray,  tho  som  were  like  Joseph 
his  coat,  being  of  manie  colours,  each  suiting  himself 
in  that  garment,  ye  Captn  hauing  sayd  yl  sometymes 
they  might  train  onlie  in  their  doublets.  But  ye 
coats  all  had  high  millitarie  collars  made  stiff  wth 
buckram  ;  and  they  were  soe  high,  that  often  as  they 
made  a  false  step  while  marching  along,  their  backs 
rising  a  little,  ye  collars  wd  push  their  caps  from  their 
heads.  And  once,  while  marching  downe  a  stony  hil, 


IO4  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

so  manie  were  pushed  off,  yl  Captn  Kayne  sayd  seem- 
inglie  there  were  more  caps  vppon  ye  ground  than  on 
their  heads,  and  he  would,  befoar  another  trayning,  see 
to  haueing  ye  collars  cutt  down  ;  for  they  not  onlie 
pushd  off  the  caps  but  likewise  made  their  cues  stick 
out  so  strait  behinde  that  they  lookd  like  little  steering 
poles  ;  w**  conceit  made  mch  merrymnt.  Their  wiggs 
were  mightie  in  syze,  and  ye  cues  wound  wth  eal  skin. 
Som  of  ye  wiggs  were  white,  som  gray  and  som  of 
dyvers  colours,  as  to  that  matter,  for  som  not  being 
able  to  get  real  wiggs,  were  faine  to  dress  yr  heads 
in  ye  skins  of  little  foxes  or  raccoons,  winding  ye  tayls 
for  cues.  Ye  caps  or  hatts  were  such  as  each  could 
best  procure  for  himself.  Most  had  brave  bandoleers 
and  powdr  homes  hung  at  their  sides  ;  and  ye  officers 
had  long  streaming  sashes,  mch  like  Indjan  belts  ; 
som  saying  that  ye  one  Capt"  Kayne  wore,  and  wch 
was  mch  praised,  was  giuen  him  by  Arrow  lohn,  and 
was  wrought  by  his  dafter  Sunny  Wave.  Som  were 
armd  wth  musquets,  but  there  not  being  enow  for  all, 
dyvers  had  halberds,  and  a  few  Indjan  warr  clubs  or 
bowes  and  arrows. 

"  Manie  came  in  from  ye  outer  settlements  to  see 
y*  parade,  for  all  deemd  this  Companie  to  bee  of 
mightie  import  amoungst  vs.  Dyvers  of  ye  best  men 
from  ye  othr  plantacions  haue  joynd,  and  ye  ministers 
haue  don  mch  to  help  ye  affair  along,  tho  there  yet  bee 
som  who  beare  ye  Companie  noe  good  will,  feareing 
y1  it  may  one  day  com  to  bee  a  powr  not  easie  to 
manage.  All  agree  yl  it  must  be  kept  vnder  ye  civill 
authoritie,  or  our  liberties  are  gon.  Noe  feare  need 
bee  from  anie  now  membrs,  for  they  be  all  right  from 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  IO5 

amoungst  vs  and  as  mch  concernd  as  wee  to  keepe 
matters  in  godlie  trim.  And  as  for  ye  future,  it  is 
not  wise  to  distres  orselves  abl  y4,  it  tjeing  in  God  his 
keeping. 

"  Ye  cheifest  membrs  of  ye  Cort  were  present,  dyvrs 
of  them,  indeed,  being  of  ye  Companie.  Mr  Hubbard, 
who  hath  bin  nicknamd  ye  smashing  membr,  was  there, 
and  must  needs  xrcise  himselfe  in  his  odd  way,  bring- 
ing scandall  on  ye  occacion.  [This  was  Levi  Hubbard, 
a  member  much  noted  for  his  eccentricities.  I  have 
notes  respecting  him,  and  hope  to  introduce  a  short 
sketch,  some  pages  hence.]  When  ye  jewesharpes 
playd  hee  was  soe  amazd  y*  hee  let  fly  a  bigg  roll  of 
tabacca  and  hit  one  of  ye  young  Indjans  on  ye  head, 
who  thinking  it  sent  as  a  reward  for  his  skill  on  ye 
instrument,  was  mch  pleasd  and  playd  all  ye  hardr. 

"  Ye  Companie  haueing  marchd  beyond  ye  rayles  on 
ye  Rocksberry  roade,  wd  paws  in  ye  shade  for  rest  and 
refresh™1.  While  soe  doing,  one  of  Mr  Hubbard  his 
flits  seizing  him,  he  hurld  a  great  clam  wth  mch  force, 
whch  hitting  a  tree,  shyd  off  into  ye  bushes  and  bouncd 
into  a  nest  of  little  wing11  devills,  or  as  Mr  Cobet  call* 
ym,  hornets.  A  whole  army  of  ym  darted  out  and 
w4  surelie  haue  put  our  army  to  flight  had  it  not  bin 
for  shame.  Wth  our  guns  and  our  halberds  we  could 
not  fight  such  enemys,  wch,  though  small,  were  not  to 
be  despisd.  Their  pestigeous  stings  made  som  cry 
out  who  wd  haue  met  ye  fire  of  bullets  wthout  moveing. 
Som  roared  for  very  agonie  of  payn  ;  som  hopped 
and  jumped  about  like  distracted  Indjans  ;  som  rolled 
on  ye  ground  ;  som  ran  to  ye  little  brook  for  releif  of 
ye  terrible  burnings  ;  and  som  scolded  and  swore  for 
E* 


IO6  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

very  madness,  to  ye  great  scandall  of  ye  manie  godlie 
ones  present.  Captn  Kayne  had  a  grievous  sting  on 
ye  face,  w0*1  sett  his  nose  awry  in  a  most  comical  way. 
Ye  Ensigne  was  in  great  rage,  knowing  ye  cause  of 
ye  mischeif,  and  wth  drawn  sword  rushed  vppon  M1 
Hubbard,  and  wd  haue  don  him  harme  had  he  not  bin 
restrained.  Som  others,  being  a  little  heady,  mayhap 
from  ye  drink  they  had  taken,  threw  off  their  coats  as 
if  to  fight  som  body  or  som  thing,  they  knew  not 
what.  And  there  was  mcl)  adew  befour  peace  was 
restor*1. 

"  Mr  Peters,  ye  Salem  minister,  aftr  ye  agonie  had 
subsided,  wd  make  improvement  of  ye  occacion,  re- 
minding that  an  enemie  may  suddainlie  spring  vpp, 
and  though  small  and  seeminglie  but  to  bee  despised 
make  spoyl  in  any  souldjer  ranks  if  pannic  be  suf- 
fer*1 to  get  ye  vpper  hand.  Courage,  wthout  diccipline, 
does  little  ;  and  courage  and  diccipline  both  togethr 
are  nigh  vppon  worthies  wthout  ye  souldjer  hath  full 
comand  of  himselfe.  Ye  true  souldjer,  unlike  ye  hired 
shedder  of  blood,  hath  heart  to  warr  onlie  for  ye  right ; 
and  he  alone  is  invincibl.  His  horn,  his  rights  and  his 
libertys  he  clefendeth  against  enemys  wch  might  ovr- 
powr,  wthout  ye  hand  of  God,  w°h  is  always  uplifted  for 
ye  right.  Yea,  haue  wee  not  just  scene  what  a  nest 
of  poore  despisd  hornets  may  do  wh"  their  horn  is 
invaded  and  their  lives  endanger11  ?  Manie  othr  wise 
and  godle  things  did  Mr  Peters  utter,  and  spoke 
somewh*  on  ye  holie  ordinances. 

"Att  Rocksberry  they  had  som  xrcise  at  targett 
shooting,  ye  musquetts  being  well  chargd  and  ringing 
loudlie  off  in  ye  woodes  ;  but  soe  manie  fireing  wide 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  1 07 

of  ye  marke,  and  endangring  ye  wounding  of  those 
present,  Mr  Peters  did  pleasantlie  say  that  ye  safest 
place  seemd  to  be  close  by  ye  targett.  It  was  well 
nigh  sunsetting  when  ye  Companie  returnd  and  drew 
vp  at  y6  door  of  ye  Cort  Hous,  for  to  be  dismisd.  God 
be  praisd,  and  giue  ye  Companie  to  be  a  powr  in  ye  land 
for  protexcion  of  his  people  against  euery  adversarie, 
whethr  Indjan,  Dutch,  or  Devill.  Amen." 

Mr.  Pinion's  allusion  to  "y6  jewesharpes,"  needs 
perhaps  a  word  of  explanation.  The  Indian  girl 
Sunny  Wave  was  frequently  in  Boston  and  much 
allured  to  the  store  of  Mr.  Keayne,  where  she  could 
feast  her  eyes  on  the  array  of  pretty  things  so  attrac- 
tive to  her  pale  sisters.  Sometimes  she  exchanged 
wampum,  baskets,  or  any  commodity  that  her  scanty 
store  afforded,  for  his  valuables.  Among  other  things 
she  purchased  a  bright  red  jacket,  which  she  wore  in 
such  jaunty  style,  with  her  white  flowing  plumes,  that 
she  made  herself  an  extremely  picturesque  object. 
Some  said  that  Mr.  Keayne  made  "  two  for  one " 
profit  on  the  jacket ;  in  other  words  cheated  her. 
But  she  was  so  well  pleased  with  her  bargain,  as  she 
viewed  herself  in  the  little  toy  looking-glass  that  he 
threw  in  with  the  purchase,  that  she  made  no  com- 
plaint. 

She  was  sometimes  commissioned  by  others  of  her 
tribe  to  make  purchases  for  them,  and  brought  many 
to  the  store  with  their  barter.  Indeed  it  may  be  said 
that  she  was  an  active  little  commercial  drummer, 
and  the  first  solicitor  of  the  kind  that  a  Boston  mer- 
chant ever  had  ;  and  through  her  agency  the  crafty 
trader  was  enabled  to  drive  a  profitable  Indian  traffic. 


IO8  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

He  always  found  her  perfectly  honest,  and  would  have 
trusted  her  in  any  way.  Her  intelligence  enabled 
her  to  very  well  understand  a  bargain,  though  it  was 
more  difficult  to  make  her  understand  the  advantage 
of  accumulation,  or  why  one  should  work  and  strive 
as  the  white  folk  did,  to  save  up  for  necessities  that 
might  never  come.  He  delighted  to  instruct  her  in 
the  ways  of  the  white  men  respecting  trade,  the  value 
of  money,  and  kindred  matters.  But  his  instruction, 
though  fully  comprehended,  did  not  strike  sufficiently 
deep  to  make  her  deceitful  or  selfish. 

But  about  the  jewsharps.  On  the  momentous 
occasion  of  the  great  parade  described,  just  as  the 
Company  took  up  their  line  of  march,  what  was  Capt. 
Keayne's  astonishment  to  see  some  forty  young  In- 
dians join  on  to  the  rear,  each  with  a  jewsharp,  on 
which  he  began  to  play  with  might  and  main. 

Most  of  the  soldiers  broke  out  in  uncontrollable 
laughter  at  the  ludicrousness  of  the  unexpected  scene, 
for  the  tawny  apparitions  strode  on  with  measured 
step  and  with  a  solemnity  of  countenance  that  plainly 
showed  they  thought  themselves  playing  an  important 
part  in  a  very  splendid  affair.  And  they  strained 
their  powers  to  the  utmost  to  bring  out  the  full  force 
of  the  instruments.  But  the  ire  of  the  Captain  was 
instantly  a-blaze,  and  he  determined  on  punishing  the 
audacious  attempt  at  mockery,  as  he  supposed  it, 
with  merited  severity,  and  on  the  spot.  He  ordered 
a  halt,  and  with  drawn  sword  rushed  toward  the 
unwelcome  recruits.  They  scattered  like  sheep  before 
a  pursuing  wolf — over  stone  walls,  through  mud 
holes,  and  by  every  short  cut  to  the  woods.  Pres- 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  ICK) 

ently  not  one  remained.  But  a  number  of  jewsharps 
were  gathered  up. 

Captain  Keayne  carefully  examined  the  recovered 
instruments  for  a  short  time,  and  then  declared  that 
they  had  been  stolen  from  his  store.  Had  the  savages 
made  a  raid  upon  his  premises  in  his  absence  — 
perhaps  murdering  the  one  left  in  charge,  and  carrying 
off  all  his  goods  ?  The  apprehension  was  almost 
overpowering,  brave  soldier  as  he  was. 

Putting  the  Lieutenant  in  command,  he  hastened 
back  to  his  store  with  fear  and  trembling.  And  there 
he  found  —  what  ?  why,  the  little  witch  Sunny  Wave, 
sitting  behind  the  counter,  calm  as  a  summer  morning, 
embroidering  a  moccasin  ;  yet,  had  he  looked  closely, 
he  might  have  noticed  just  the  slightest  shade  of  a 
twinkle  in  her  bright,  merry  eye.  She  was  all  alone, 
the  attendant  having  gone  off  to  training,  not  suppos- 
ing customers  would  come  on  such  a  holiday.  She 
happened  along  very  opportunely  for  him,  and  con- 
sented to  remain,  as  he  did  not  dare  to  actually  shut 
up  shop.  And  he  had  no  hesitancy  in  leaving  her  in 
charge,  as  every  body  knew  her  to  be  entirely  trust- 
worthy. 

But  the  mischievous  sprite  had  not  been  there  alone 
long,  when  there  came  down  the  road,  on  their  way 
to  the  training,  a  large  delegation  of  the  young  men 
of  the  neighboring  tribes.  In  a  moment  she  seized 
all  the  jewsharps  in  the  store,  that  she  could  lay 
hands  on,  and  distributed  them  among  her  friends, 
instructing  them  to  fall  in  at  the  rear  of  the  Company, 
and  to  play  with  all  their  might.  Five  or  six  little 
tin  horns  were  added  to  the  harps  to  eke  out  the 


IIO  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

number,  as  they  were  all  eager  to  join  the  band.  As 
the  instruments  were  supplied  from  the  store  of  the 
Captain,  they  naturally  enough  concluded  that  the 
duty  they  were  called  to  was  in  accordance  with  the 
programme  ;  and  accepted  their  part  with  conscious 
dignity. 

When  Mr.  Keayne  arrived  at  his  store,  panting,  and 
agitated  by  the  direst  apprehensions,  there,  as  just 
observed,  he  found  Sunny  Wave  sitting  quietly  at 
work.  And  when  he  had  succeeded  in  unburdening 
himself,  she,  with  all  the  freedom  imaginable  unbur- 
dened herself.  She  told  him  that  she  supplied  the 
jewsharps  from  the  store,  and  should  pay  for  every 
one  that  was  missing  ;  adding  that  she  "  meant  all 
for  very  good,"  and  hoped  she  had  done  "  no  wicked." 
Her  innocency  at  once  disarmed  the  good  man  of  any 
thing  like  resentment ;  and  he  was  so  pleased  with 
what  he  now  really  believed  was  intended  to  honor 
him,  that  he  declared  he  would  take  no  pay  from  her, 
and  was  sorry  he  had  drawn  his  sword  on  her  friends. 
And  he  further  propitiated  her  by  the  noble  gift  of 
six  or  eight  raisins.  Then  he  hastened  back  to  his 
command,  in  the  best  of  spirits,  leaving  the  dusky 
maid  still  in  charge  of  the  store.  But  for  years  after 
he  was  subjected  to  flings  about  his  jewsharp  band, 
from  the  ill-mannered  people  whom  he  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  offend.  And  I  will  venture  to  say  of  the 
band  itself  that  the  renowned  Gilmore  never  led  a 
company  who  felt  more  pride  than  they  when  they 
first  fell  into  rank  ;  for  the  Indians  were  such  lovers 
of  music  that  even  the  rattlesnake  had  charms  for 
them.  Their  pride,  however,  had  a  shocking  fall 


ROBERT    KEAYNE,  III 

when  Captain  Keayne  charged  on  them  so  fiercely 
with  his  drawn  sword. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  the  Ancient  and  Hon- 
orable Artillery  Company,  its  ranks  were  adorned  by 
some  of  the  best  and  most  prominent  men  in  the 
community.  Indeed  such  has  been  the  case  through 
its  whole  history ;  a  circumstance  which  has  always 
given  it  character,  and  placed  it  beyond  the  fears  and 
suspicions  entertained  at  the  time  of  its  organization — 
the  fact  that  Governor  Andros  was  afraid  of  it  being 
decidedly  in  its  favor.  That  it  was  of  great  benefit 
in  regulating  the  discipline  of  the  colonial  military 
there  is  no  doubt.  Some  of  the  most  eminent  of  the 
commanders  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars  were 
members,  and  it  was  long  recognized  as  a  school 
of  tactics.  And  even  at  this  day  —  when  we  may 
perhaps  say  that  its  usefulness  has  ended  and  it  has 
become  merely  a  dignified  plaything  —  historians  and 
genealogists  are  accustomed  to  esteem  membership 
an  honor  worthy  of  particular  mention.  For  a  great 
many  years,  every  member  of  the  Company  was 
required  to  furnish  two  bondsmen  —  probably  as 
sureties  for  good  behavior,  and  for  the  payment  of 
dues. 

And  now,  while  military  affairs  are  under  consider- 
ation, it  is  pertinent  to  introduce  a  few  of  the  regu- 
lations established  by  the  General  Court,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  an  insight  into  several  matters 
connected  with  the  discipline  of  the  colonial  soldiery 
at  a  later  period.  They  are  selected  from  the  "  Lawes 
and  Ordinances  of  Warr,  passed  by  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts,  [October  13,  1675,]  for  the  better 


112  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

regulating  their  forces,  and  keeping  theire  souldjers 
to  theire  duty,  and  to  prevent  prophaness,  that  iniquity 
may  be  kept  out  of  the  campe."  It  will  be  recollected 
that  1675  was  the  time  of  King  Philip's  war. 

"  Let  no  man  presume  to  blaspheme  the  holy  and 
blessed  Trinity,  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and 
God  the  Holy  Ghost,  vpon  payne  to  haue  his  tongue 
bored  wth  a  hott  iron.  ^[  "Vnlawfull  oathes  and 
execrations  and  scandalous  acts,  in  derogation  of 
Gods  honour,  shall  be  punished  wth  losse  of  pay  and 
other  punishment,  at  discretion.  ^|  "  All  those  who 
often  and  wilfully  absent  themselves  from  the  publick 
worship  of  God  and  prayer  shall  be  proceeded  against 
at  discretion.  ^|  "  No  man  shall  presume  to  quarrel 
wth  his  superiour  officers  vpon  pajne  of  casheiring 
and  arbitrary  punishment ;  nor  to  strike  any  such 
vpon  payne  of  death.  ^[  "  No  man  shall  resist, 
draw,  lift,  or  offer  to  draw  or  lift,  his  weapon  against 
his  officer,  correcting  him  orderly,  for  his  defence 
vpon  pajne  of  death.  ^[  "  No  man  shall  vtter  any 
words  of  sedition  or  mutiny,  vpon  pajne  of  death. 
^[  "  Drunkenes  in  an  officer  shall  be  punished  wth 
losse  of  place,  and  in  a  private  souldier  shall  be  pun- 
ished wth  such  punishment  as  a  Court  Martiall  shall 
thinke  fitt.  ^[  "  Rapes,  rauishments,  unnatural  abuses 
and  adultery  shall  be  punished  with  death.  ^[  "  Theft, 
robbery,  shall  be  punished  wth  restitution,  and  other- 
wise wth  discretion.  ^[  "  Murder  shall  be  expiated 
wth  the  death  of  the  murderer.  ^[  "  If  any  shall 
negligently  lose  or  sinfully  play  away  theire  armee  at 
dice  or  cards,  or  other  wayes,  they  shall  be  kept  as 
pyoners  or  scavingers  till  they  furnish  themselues  with 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  113 

as  good  armes.  ^[  "  None  shall  presume  to  spoyle, 
sell,  or  carry  away  any  amunition  comitted  vnto  him, 
vpon  payne  of  death.  *[[  "  No  souldier  shall  outstay 
his  passe  wthout  a  cirtifficat  of  the  occasion  vnder  the 
hand  of  a  magistrate,  vpon  payne  of  loosing  his  pay. 
"By  grievous  punishment  is  meant  disgraceing,  by 
casheiring,  the  strappadoe,  or  riding  the  wooden  horse 
to  fetch  blood.  ^[  "Arbitrary  punishment,  or  pun- 
ishment at  discretion,  is  meant  not  to  extend  to 
hazard  life  or  limbe." 

I  have  had  occasion  elsewhere  to  remark  that  the 
General  Court  was  no  respecter  of  persons.  No 
matter  how  high  a  position  an  individual  maintained, 
or  however  valuable  his  services  may  have  been,  if  he 
transgressed  the  laws  it  went  hard  with  him.  There 
was  no  back  door  through  which  the  rich  delinquent 
could  escape,  as  some  miserable  grumblers  pretend  is 
the  case  in  these  days  of  vigorous  patriotism  and 
subdued  selfishness. 

Mr.  Keayne  was  accustomed  to  keep  for  sale  at  his 
store  in  Boston,  articles  of  almost  every  description 
in  common  use.  Now  it  was  a  weakness  of  some 
of  the  shopkeepers  in  those  days,  occasionally  to  give 
way  to  the  temptation  to  charge  a  large  profit  on 
their  goods,  as  large,  indeed,  as  the  necessity  of  the 
customer  would  induce  him  to  pay  ;  a  weakness  that 
it  is  agreeable  to  observe  modern  shopkeepers  tower 
far  above.  And  the  evil  attained  to  such  a  growth 
that  the  people  in  their  innocency  called  it  extortion, 
•  and  the  Court  set  about  enacting  laws  for  its  restraint ; 
laws  in  the  nature  of  what  we  call  sumptuary,  though 

8 


114  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

I  do  not  know  that  that  abused  word  then  caused 
much  fluttering  or  distress. 

Unfortunately,  Mr.  Keayne,  not  being  sufficiently 
watchful  of  the  acquisitive  propensity,  fell  into  the 
evil  habit  under  notice.  A  few  words  from  Win- 
throp's  journal  will  show  how  the  matter  stood.  And 
here  it  may  be  remarked  that  this  and  our  other 
extracts  from  that  much  prized  work  are  from  Savage's 
edition,  wherein  the  orthography  is  modernized.  This 
modernizing  is  a  matter  of  taste  ;  but  the  peculiarities 
of  the  old  style  as  they  appear  in  the  jottings  of  Mr. 
Pinion,  for  instance,  seem  to  me  rather  more  in  keep- 
ing. Winthrop,  then,  says  : 

"  At  a  General  Court  holden  at  Boston,  great  com- 
plaint was  made  of  the  oppression  used  in  the  country 
in  the  sale  of  foreign  commodities  ;  and  Mr.  Robert 
Keayne,  who  kept  a  shop  in  Boston,  was  notoriously 
above  others  observed  and  complained  of;  and  being 
convented,  he  was  charged  with  many  particulars  ;  in 
some,  for  taking  above  six  pence  in  the  shilling  profit ; 
in  some,  above  eight  pence  ;  and  in  some  small  things, 
above  two  for  one ;  and  being  hereof  convict,  (as 
appears  by  the  records,)  he  was  fined  ^200,  which 
came  thus  to  pass :  The  Deputies  considered,  apart, 
of  his  fine,  and  set  it  at  ^200 ;  the  Magistrates 
agreed  but  to  £100.  So  the  Court  being  divided,  at 
length  it  was  agreed  that  his  fine  should  be  £200, 
but  he  should  pay  but  £100,  and  the  other  should  be 
respited  to  the  further  consideration  of  the  next  Gen- 
eral Court.  By  this  means  the  Magistrates  and  Dep- 
uties were  brought  to  an  accord,  which  otherwise 
had  not  been  likely,  and  so  much  trouble  might  have 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  115 

grown,  and  the  offender  escaped  censure.  For  the 
cry  of  the  country  was  so  great  against  oppression, 
and  some  of  the  elders  and  Magistrates  had  declared 
such  detestation  of  the  corrupt  practice  of  this  man 
(which  was  the  more  observable,  because  he  was 
wealthy  and  sold  dearer  than  most  other  tradesmen, 
and  for  that  he  was  of  ill-report  for  the  like  covetous 
practice  in  England,  that  incensed  the  Deputies  very 
much  against  him.)  And  sure  the  course  was  very 
evil,  especial  circumstances  considered  :  I.  He  being 
an  ancient  professor  of  the  gospel :  2.  A  man  of 
eminent  parts  :  3.  Wealthy  and  having  but  one 
child :  4.  Having  come  over  for  conscience'  sake, 
and  for  the  advancement  of  the  gospel  here  :  5.  Hav- 
ing been  formerly  dealt  with  and  admonished,  both 
by  private  friends  and  also  by  some  of  the  Magistrates 
and  elders,  and  having  promised  reformation ;  being 
a  member  of  a  church  and  commonwealth  now  in 
their  infancy,  and  under  the  curious  observation  of  all 
churches  and  civil  states  in  the  world.  These  added 
much  aggravation  to  his  sin  in  the  judgment  of  all 
men  of  understanding." 

After  the  sentence  of  the  Court,  Mr.  Keayne  had 
the  ordeal  of  the  church  to  go  through.  And  before 
that  body,  as  the  author  just  quoted  from  says,  "  he 
did  with  tears  acknowledge  and  bewail  his  covetous 
and  corrupt  heart,  yet  making  some  excuse  for  many 
of  the  particulars  which  were  charged  upon  him,  as 
partly  by  pretense  of  ignorance  of  the  true  price  of 
some  wares,  and  chiefly  by  being  misled  by  some 
false  principles,  as  :  i.  That  if  a  man  lost  in  one 
commodity  he  might  help  himself  in  the  price  of 


Il6  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

another :  2.  That  if  through  want  of  skill  or  other 
occasion,  his  commodity  cost  him  more  than  the 
price  of  the  market  in  England,  he  might  then  sell  it 
for  more  than  the  price  of  the  market  in  New  England, 
etc."  That  sort  of  wholesome  repentance  might  be 
recommended  for  the  Boston  shopkeepers  of  this  day 
could  it  by  any  possibility  be  imagined  that  they  were 
ever  guilty  of  taking  too  high  a  price  for  their  goods. 

Mr.  Keayne  was  a  brother-in-law  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Wilson  ;  a  fact  which  might  have  had  some  slight 
influence  on  the  action  of  the  church,  for  he  was  only 
admonished  by  that  body,  though  there  was  a  strong 
effort  made  to  excommunicate  him.  It  should  be 
mentioned,  however,  that  the  occasion  was  seized  on 
by  that  other  puritanical  light,  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton,  to 
lay  open  what  he  conceived  to  be  some  of  the  false 
principles  acted  upon  in  trade,  and  also  to  announce 
certain  true  principles.  And  he  in  reality  sets  his 
standard  at  a  most  commendable  elevation.  For  the 
benefit  especially  of  our  worthy  friends  the  shopkeep- 
ers I  will  here  introduce  some  points  of  his  lecture : 

These  are  false  principles  :  "  i.  That  a  man  might 
sell  as  dear  as  he  can,  and  buy  as  cheap  as  he  can. 
2.  If  a  man  lose  by  casualty  of  sea,  etc.,  in  some  of  his 
commodities,  he  may  raise  the  price  of  the  rest.  3. 
That  he  may  sell  as  he  bought,  though  he  paid  too 
dear,  etc.,  and  though  the  commodity  be  fallen,  etc. 
4.  That,  as  a  man  may  take  advantage  of  his  own 
skill  or  ability,  so  he  may  of  another's  ignorance  or 
necessity.  5.  Where  one  gives  time  for  payment,  he 
is  to  take  like  recompense  of  one  as  another." 

These  are  true  principles :     "  I.  A  man  may  not 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  1 1/ 

sell  above  the  current  price,  i.  e.  such  a  price  as  is 
usual  in  the  time  and  place,  and  as  another  (who 
knows  the  worth  of  the  commodity)  would  give  for 
it  if  he  had  occasion  to  use  it ;  as  that  is  called  current 
money,  which  every  man  will  take,  etc.  2.  When  a 
man  loseth  in  his  commodity  for  want  of  skill,  etc., 
he  must  look  at  it  as  his  own  fault  or  cross,  and 
therefore  must  not  lay  it  upon  another.  3.  Where  a 
man  loseth  by  casualty  of  sea,  or,  etc.,  it  is  a  loss 
cast  upon  himself  by  providence,  and  he  may  not  ease 
himself  of  it  by  casting  it  upon  another  ;  for  so  a  man 
should  seem  to  provide  against  all  providences,  etc., 
that  he  should  never  lose  ;  but  where  there  is  a 
scarcity  of  the  commodity,  there  men  may  raise  their 
price  ;  for  now  it  is  a  hand  of  God  upon  the  commo- 
dity, and  not  the  person.  4.  A  man  may  not  ask 
any  more  for  his  commodity  than  his  selling  price,  as 
Ephron  to  Abraham,  the  land  is  worth  thus  much." 
A  man  who  heartily  complies  with  all  these  true 
principles,  may  be  considered  as  having  attained  the 
very  alpine  height  of  honest  dealing  and  need  no 
longer  cry  excelsior.  But  we  are  constrained  to  add 
that  if  every  trader  who  trespassed  upon  them  were 
expelled  from  the  churches,  there  would  not  be  enough 
left  to  shovel  the  snow  from  the  doors  in  winter.  It 
seems  as  if  the  venerable  preacher  could  not  have 
considered  the  third  point  in  his  true  principles,  in  all 
its  bearings  ;  or  did  not  foresee  how  often,  in  our  day, 
the  hand  of  the  speculator  and  monopolist,  instead  of 
the  hand  of  God,  was  the  only  apparent  agency  in 
creating  a  scarcity.  But  we  thank  him  for  his  high 
toned  morality.  The  prevailing  sentiment  of  this 


I.I 8  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

age  would  not  require  all  that  he  proposes  ;  but  if  he 
is  too  strict  we  are  too  loose.  Most  people,  now,  I 
suppose,  would  regard  as  rather  sublimated  the  moral- 
ity that  would  require  a  man  who  has  lost  his  property, 
to  respect  the  loss  as  a  special  providence,  and  any 
attempt  to  regain  it  an  impiety,  on  the  ground  that 
it  would  be  endeavoring  to  defeat  God's  purpose ; 
but  this  only  shows  our  abandonment  of  good  old 
puritanical  doctrine. 

And  here,  were  we  disposed  to  moralize,  a  favorable 
opportunity  is  presented.  That  low,  but  overflowing 
class  who  make  the  attainment  of  wealth  the  great 
purpose  of  life  are  certainly  worthy  objects  of  pity ; 
for  they  occupy  themselves  in  gathering  what  can 
never  be  enjoyed  excepting  in  the  dispensing.  Fools 
may  gather  wealth  and  it  is  they  who  hold  on  to  it 
after  it  is  gathered,  as  life's  end  and  purpose.  The 
wise  only  know  how  to  use  it,  treating  it  as  a  means, 
not  an  end.  The  recently  deceased  London  banker, 
and  New  Englander  by  birthright,  has  come  to  be 
reckoned  one  of  the  truest  lights  that  ever  adorned 
the  firmament  of  wealth  ;  and  when  he  shot  from  his 
sphere  he  left  a  bright  mark  which  will  not  for  many 
generations  fade  away.  Princes  and  lords  were  in  his 
funeral  train,  and  a  requiem  was  chanted  over  him 
within  walls  where  rest  the  noblest  poets,  statesmen, 
heroes  and  sovereigns  the  world  has  known  ;  and  his 
praises  filled  two  continents.  This  was  not  because 
he  was  a  rich  man,  but  because  he  employed  his 
riches  in  a  way  that  good  men  and  wise  men  every 
where  approved.  A  great  many  men  as  rich  as  he 
have  died  and  were  never  heard  of  after. 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  119 

But  it  may  be  remarked  that  they  were  accustomed 
to  admit  in  all  courts,  yea,  in  the  General  Court  itself, 
testimony  of  the  loosest  character,  and  such  as  would 
not  be  allowed  at  this  day  in  any  court  that  was  not 
literally  an  inferior  one.  There  was  an  example  in 
the  case  of  Mr.  Keayne.  Savage,  in  speaking  of  it, 
says  he  saw  an  affidavit  of  one  Thomas  Wiltshire, 
stating  that  for  work  done  at  Capt.  Keayne's  house, 
there  was  due  him  thirty-eight  shillings,  and  that 
Keayne  sold  him  a  piece  of  broadcloth,  "which  he 
said  was  Spanish  broadcloth,  and  delivered  for  pay- 
ment to  this  deponent  at  seventeen  shillings  per  yard, 
the  which  cloth  this  deponent  showed  to  Henry 
Shrimpton,  and  he  said  it  was  not  worth  above  ten 
shillings  per  yard,  for  it  was  but  cloth  rash,  and  so 
said  Goodman  Read,  and  his  wife  _  showed  a  waistcoat 
of  the  same  kind  of  cloth,  which  cost  but  nine  shillings 
per  yard,  and  in  this  deponent's  judgment  was  better 
cloth  ;  and  this  deponent  showed  the  same  cloth  to 
Mr.  Rock,  and  he  said  it  was  worth  but  ten  shillings 
per  yard,  for  it  was  but  cloth  rash,  and  this  deponent 
showed  it  also  to  Mr.  Stoddard  and  he  said  likewise 
that  it  was  cloth  rash,  and  was  not  worth  above  ten 
shillings  per  yard,  and  was  dear  enough  at  that  price, 
or  words  to  that  effect." 

But  it  is  fair  to  give  Mr.  Keayne  himself  a  chance 
to  say  something  in  his  justification  or  defense.  His 
will  may  be  found  among  the  Suffolk  records,  in 
Boston,  and  is  certainly  a  gem  for  the  curious.  It 
was  written  by  his  own  hand,  and  occupies  a  hundred 
and  fifty-eight  folio  pages.  In  it,  he  allows  a  wide 
scope  to  his  pen,  defending  himself  against  slanders, 


I2O  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

rebuking  his  enemies,  extolling  his  friends,  explaining 
his  faith,  expressing  his  regard  for  his  pet  child,  the 
Artillery  Company,  and  in  short  touching  on  whatever 
he  seems  to  have  thought  necessary  to  set  himself 
right  before  the  world  he  was  about  to  leave ;  enli- 
vening the  whole  with  right  and  left  lampoons,  for 
which  his  approaching  exit  would  prevent  retaliation. 
Alluding  to  the  "  haynous  offence,"  as  he  calls  it,  of 
selling  goods  at  too  great  a  profit,  for  which  the  Court 
had  imposed  such  a  heavy  punishment,  he  says : 
"  For  selling  a  good  bridle  for  2s. ;  now  worse  are 
sold  without  offence  for  3^.  and  6d. ;  nayles  for  yd. 
and  8</. ;  nayles  for  lod.  per  Ib.  frequently  for  a  great 
deal  more,  and  so  in  other  things  ;  selling  gold  but- 
tons for  two  shillings  nine  pence  a  dozen,  that  cost 
above  2s.  in  London,  and  yet  neuer  payd  for  by  them 
that  complayned.  These  were  the  great  matters  in 
w**  I  had  offended."  But,  says  he,  elsewhere,  in  touch- 
ing fable,  "  If  the  lyon  will  say  the  lamb  is  a  foxe  it 
'  must  be  so,  the  lamb  must  be  content  to  bear  it." 

I  have  made  some  efforts  to  discover  the  location 
of  Mr.  Keayne's  store,  and  find  that  he  changed  his 
quarters  several  times  —  twice  on  account  of  fire. 
At  or  about  the  jewsharp  epoch,  however,  he  seems 
to  have  kept  in  a  shabby  little  ten-foot  structure  on 
or  very  near  the  now  eligible  site  at  present  occupied 
by  the  serene  old  literary  rookery  at  the  corner  of 
Washington  and  School  streets.  There  the  great 
sign,  in  black  and  yellow  emblazoned  his  name,  and 
the  numerous  brood  of  little  signs  in  black  and  white 
set  forth  the  chief  articles  of  his  trade,  to  the  admira- 
tion of  all  the  good  people.  There  was  no  newspaper 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  121 

advertising  in  those  days  ;  no,  nor  were  there  any 
newspapers  to  stir  up  the  wits  and  the  bile  of  the 
good  people.  Neighborhood  gossips  retailed  the  news, 
and  smoky  tap-rooms  were  the  seats  of  discussion  on 
the  doings  of  the  wide  world.  When  the  impudent 
little  printing  press  was  established  at  Cambridge, 
however,  there  now  and  then  flew  abroad  a  rebellious 
sheet  of  a  hand's  breadth,  which  created  a  marked 
sensation  throughout  the  colonial  borders  ;  for  even 
in  that  generally  uncorrupt  period  of  our  history 
there  were  ambitious  aspirants  and  surly  malcontents. 

Every  body  who  has  examined  the  records  of  the 
General  Court  cannot  fail  to  have  observed  how  very 
frequently  the  name  of  Mr.  Keayne  appears  —  some- 
times in  most  odd  connections.  And  the  curious  as 
well  as  vexatious  incidents  and  lawsuits  attendant  on 
the  case  of  the  stray  swine  will  not  be  forgotten.  The 
developments  show  that  he  had  relentless  enemies, 
such  as  were  ever  ready  to  sully  his  reputation.  But 
as  it  is  true  that  a  man  must  be  weak,  who  cannot 
do  enough  good  deeds  to  provoke  the  evil-minded  to 
malign  him,  so  it  is  also  true  that  a  man  who  gathers 
around  him  from  the  various  classes  an  extensive 
circle  of  enemies  cannot  be  without  faults,  however 
meritorious  many  of  his  individual  acts  may  be.  And 
one  is  of  course  more  properly  judged  by  his  general 
reputation  than  by  isolated  facts.  The  swine  story 
may  be  briefly  told  in  this  way : 

A  Mrs.  Sherman  lost  a  swine,  and  at  about  the 
same  time  a  four-footed  vagrant  of  the  same  descrip- 
tion strolled  into  the  premises  of  Mr.  Keayne  and 

F 


122  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

was  there  hospitably  entertained  as  an  estray.  Like 
an  honest  man  he  had  the  animal  cried  throughout 
the  town  ;  but  for  almost  a  year  no  claimant  appeared. 
He  had  put  it  into  the  pen  with  his  own  pig,  and 
there  the  two  had  lived  lovingly  together  till  his  own 
became,  in  unctuous  junks,  a  tenant  of  the  pork  barrel. 
Mrs.  Sherman  now  appeared  and  claimed  that  the 
estray  was  hers  ;  and  after  an  examination  of  the 
survivor  declared  that  her  neighbor  had  made  pork 
of  hers  instead  of  his  own.  Her  husband  was  then 
in  England  ;  but  she  had  spirit  enough  to  pursue  the 
matter  in  his  absence.  She  got  it  before  the  church  ; 
but  that  tribunal,  after  a  fair  examination,  acquitted 
him.  She  then  managed  to  have  it  brought  up  in  the 
inferior  court  at  Boston,  but  was  no  more  successful 
than  before  the  church  ;  indeed  she  found  herself  at 
much  greater  disadvantage,  for  her  antagonist,  after 
being  acquitted,  commenced  a  suit  against  her  and 
one  George  Story,  who  aided  and  abetted  her  in  her 
legal  experiments,  and  recovered  £20  damages  for 
their  slanders.  Story,  we  hope,  was  not  a  progenitor 
of  the  respectable  Story  family  now  about  Boston,  for 
we  should  not  like  to  have  them  disgraced  by  such 
an  impenitent  moral  vagabond  ;  and  by  the  same 
token  we  hope  that  the  veins  of  our  great  General 
Sherman  are  free  from  the  blood  of  Story's  crony  in 
the  swinish  contest.  But  be  those  things  as  they  may, 
this  Story  bore  no  good-will  toward  Mr.  Keayne,  as 
the  latter  had,  of  course  out  of  pure  regard  for  the 
moral  health  of  the  community,  had  him  brought 
before  the  Governor  for  living  at  Mrs.  Sherman's 
house,  under  suspicious  circumstances,  during  her 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  123 

husband's  absence.  But  Story,  as  well  as  Mrs.  Sher- 
man, must  have  possessed  great  perseverance  and 
tenacity  of  purpose,  for  they  kept  the  matter  ferment- 
ing until  they  succeeded  in  getting  a  petition  in  Mr. 
Sherman's  name  received  in  the  General  Court,  for  a 
rehearing  of  the  swine  case,  before  that  august  body. 
Nearly  a  week  was  occupied  in  examining  and  discus- 
sing the  great  points  involved  —  nearly  a  week !  think 
of  that,  ye  impatient  members  of  the  present  day  — 
and  this  result  was  arrived  at : 

"  In  the  case  between  Richrd  Sherman  &  Capt. 
Keayne,  this  was  propounded  to  vote :  Whether  the 
defend1  bee  found  to  have  bene  possest  of  the  plain- 
tiffs sowe,  &  converted  her  to  his  owne  use  or  not ;  it 
was  voted  by  2  magistrates  &  15  deputies  for  the 
plaintiffe,  &  by  7  magistrates  &  8  deputies  for  the 
defend1,  &  7  deputies  were  newters."  [Court  Records, 
June  14,  1642. 

So  they  had  shirks  in  those  days,  and  called  them 
by  the  expressive  name  of  neuters.  What  should  we 
of  this  day  call  them  if  any  should  happen  now  to 
appear  ?  But  even  this  authoritative  expression  of  the 
Great  and  General  Court  did  not  subdue  the  inflam- 
mation. Long  after,  it  was  seething  in  the  bowels 
of  the  law.  The  final  result  seems  to  have  been  that 
Mr.  Keayne  was  legally  successful ;  but  so  many 
things  were  raked  up  against  him  that  his  reputation 
greatly  suffered,  lie  was  no  doubt  very  unfortunate 
in  allowing  petty  annoyances  to  throw  him  off  his 
balance,  and  in  giving  his  resentment  for  little  injuries 
too  free  play.  Such  things  always  give  advantage 
to  mean  and  vulgar  enemies. 


124  n-      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

The  swine  case  was  long  regarded  as  a  leading  one 
in  New  England,  for  several  important  questions 
attached  themselves  to  it,  particularly  that  touching 
the  effect  of  a  negative  vote  of  the  magistrates.  We 
are  all  aware  how  lovingly  the  Senators  and  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  present  day  labor  together  with  a 
single  eye  to  the  public  good.  But  in  ancient  times 
there  occasionally  arose  a  little  unfortunate  disagree- 
ment between  the  Magistrates,  or  the  upper  house, 
and  the  Deputies,  or  lower  house ;  once  or  twice, 
sufficient  to  clog  the  wheels  for  a  time. 

Winthrop,  in  narrating  the  swine  case,  says  of  Mr. 
Keayne,  "  Being  of  ill-report  in  the  country  for  a  hard 
dealer  in  his  course  of  trading,  and  having  been  for- 
merly censured  in  the  Court  and  in  the  church  also, 
by  admonition  for  such  offences,  carried  many  weak 
minds  strongly  against  him.  And  the  truth  is,  he 
was  very  worthy  of  blame  in  that  kind,  as  divers 
others  in  the  country  were  also  in  those  times,  though 
they  were  not  detected  as  he  was  ;  yet  to  give  every 
man  his  due,  he  was  very  useful  to  the  country,  both 
by  his  hospitality  and  otherwise.  But  one  dead  fly 
spoils  much  good  ointment." 

And  so  ended  what  has  been  called  the  first  great 
law-suit  in  Boston. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  October  session  of 
the  General  Court,  in  1646,  Mr.  Keayne  was  called  to 
preside  over  the  deliberations  of  the  House,  though 
he  occupied  the  dignified  position  but  one  day,  grace- 
fully yielding  the  honor  and  danger  to  Mr.  Bridges 
of  Lynn. 

And  now  a  painful  point  in  the  character  of  Mr. 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  12$ 

Keayne  must  be  touched  upon.  The  unwelcome 
ghost  has  kept  rearing  itself  all  along,  but  we  have 
succeeded  in  driving  it  before  us  till  there  appears  no 
further  way  to  avoid  entertaining  it  and  preserve 
the  integrity  of  our  promise  to  give  faithful  views  of 
character.  He  who  delights  in  detailing  the  imper- 
fections of  the  dead,  excepting  for  the  real  good  of  the 
living,  delights  in  a  very  mean  business.  Indeed  it 
is  only  a  mean  mind  that  can  take  delight  in  unneces- 
sarily exhibiting  the  frailties  of  others,  living  or  dead. 

By  the  high  authority  of  the  Colonial  Records  it 
appears  that  he  was  intemperate.  Whether  his  habits 
in  that  particular  were  contracted  at  an  early  period, 
or  whether  he  was  very  much  given  to  his  cups,  does 
not  appear ;  and  I  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  pursue 
the  inquiry.  Upon  the  records  of  the  General  Court 
appears  the  following : 

"  Whereas,  Capt.  Rob*  Keayne  beinge  acused  to 
this  Court  for  drunkenes,  the  evidences  having  been 
perused,  &  findeing  that  he  is  proved  to  have  been 
three  times  drunke,  and  to  have  drunke  to  excess 
two  times,  for  which  offences  the  Court  doth  fine  him 
thirty  six  shillings  &  eyght  pence  ;  the  charge  of  the 
witnesses  appearinge  by  examination  to  be  the  sume 
of  fiffty  fiue  shillinges  &  two  pence,  which  this  Court 
orders  Capt.  Keayne  to  discharge.  And  whereas 
Capt.  Keayne  hath  petitioned  this  Court  to  lay  down 
his  place  as  comision1",  this  Court  doth  assent  thereto, 
as  judging  him  not  meet  to  contynue  therein."  [Court 
Records,  May  31,  1652. 

So  he  was  "proved  to  have  been  three  times 
drunke,  and  to  have  drunke  to  excess  two  times." 


126  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

But  without  stopping  to  inquire  what  the  Court 
understood  to  be  the  difference  between  getting  drunk 
and  drinking  to  excess,  or  whether  three  instances 
of  drunkenness  were  with  them  sufficient  to  constitute 
a  common  drunkard,  as  our  jurists  claim,  we  pass  on  to 
remark  that  it  is  sad  to  have  such  a  conspicuous  and  in 
several  respects  meritorious  man  go  out  of  the  world 
leaving  such  a  character  on  the  public  records.  But 
excepting  this,  his  evil-report  seems,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, to  have  arisen  from  his  exercise  of  that  shrewd- 
ness and  watered-probity  which  in  our  day  is  deemed 
almost  necessary  in  the  making  up  of  a  smart  business 
man. 

It  has  been  before  remarked  that  he  left  a  volumin- 
ous and  curious  will,  in  which  he  managed  to  inwarp 
a  sort  of  autobiography,  explaining  some  of  his  ques- 
tionable acts  and  endeavoring  to  set  himself  right 
with  the  world  ;  enlivening  the  mass  by  an  occasional 
lunge  at  his  enemies,  as  well  as  doing  some  violence 
to  English  grammar.  Witness  the  following.  He 
gives  to  the  two  children  of  his  wife's  brother,  "  Ten 
pounds,  to  be  equally  devided  between  them  ;  to  be 
payd  in  two  cowes  to  be  kept  for  their  vse.  If  any  be 
inquisitive,  why  I  do  no  more  for  him  or  his,  being  a 
brother,  my  answer  is,  I  have  done  very  much  for 
him  in  England,  in  releasing  him  out  of  prisons, 
furnishing  him  with  a  stocke  to  set  vp  his  trade,  &c. 
when  he  had  spent  all  his  owne  in  takeing  vp  many 
quarrellsome  businesses,  which  he  in  his  distempered 
fitts  had  plunged  himselfe  into ;  yet  I  compounded 
them,  sent  him  over  into  New  England,  when  his 
life  was  in  some  hazard,  paid  his  passage,  and  some 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  I2/ 

of  his  debts  for  him  in  Eng.  and  lent  him  money  to 
furnish  himselfe  with  clothes  and  other  necessarys 
for  his  voyage,  till  for  his  distempered  carriages,  I  was 
fayne  to  putt  him  out  of  my  house.  He  was  never 
quiet  from  disturbing  my  whole  family,  pursueing  me 
with  complaints  to  our  eldrs  that  he  would  haue  cutt 
my  throate  with  his  false  accusations,  if  it  had  leyn 
in  his  power.  All  my  kindnes  hath  been  putt  into  a 
broken  bag ;  an  vnthankfull  prson,  y4  hath  euer  re- 
warded my  good  wlh  evil,  though  I  desire  to  forgive 
him.  Some  may  think  these  things  had  beene  better 
buryed,  yet  seeing  God  hath  not  helped  him  to  ac- 
knowledge his  sine,  nor  truely  to  repent  of  it,  I  think 
it  is  of  vse.  They  that  doe  expect  loue  from  their 
friends,  had  not  need  abuse  them,  but  show  loue  and 
respect  to  them.  I  haue  the  rather  made  mention 
of  these  things,  to  vindicate  myself  from  the  censures 
of  others,  who  else  might  haue  thought  the  hardlier 
of  me  for  seeming  to  neglect  him." 

Mr.  Keayne  was  unhappy  in  some  of  his  family 
connections.  His  only  son,  Benjamin,  married  a 
daughter  of  Governor  Thomas  Dudley.  But  she 
seems  not  to  have  proved  what  she  should  have  been, 
and  a  separation  took  place,  and  he  went  off  to  Eng- 
land. By  her  blemishes  of  character  she  became 
greatly  reduced  in  social  position,  and  in  1647  was 
excommunicated.  The  will  mentions  the  "vnhappy 
match."  Benjamin  had  an  only  child,  a  daughter, 
who  seems  to  have  inclined  to  the  wayward  walks 
of  her  mother.  For  the  granddaughter,  the  will  pro- 
vides well,  but  enjoins  that  no  part  of  what  is  left  for 
her  shall  in  any  event  go  to  her  mother.  A  charge 


128  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

is  also  given  that  in  case  Benjamin  should  die  before 
his  daughter  comes  of  age,  she  should  be  disposed 
of  for  her  future  education  to  some  wise  and  godly 
mistress  or  family  where  she  may  have  her  carnal 
disposition  most  of  all  subdued  and  reformed  by  strict 
discipline.  And  a  further  charge  is  that  care  and 
assistance  should  be  seasonably  given  to  provide 
"some  fit  and  godly  match  proportionate  to  her 
estate  and  condition,  that  she  may  live  comfortably 
and  be  fit  to  do  good  in  her  place,  and  not  be  circum- 
vented and  cast  herself  away  upon  some  swaggering 
gentleman  or  other  that  will  look  more  after  the 
enjoying  of  what  she  hath,  than  live  in  the  fear 
of  God,  and  true  love  to  her."  It  is  a  blessed  thing 
that  there  are  no  such  "  swaggering  gentlemen "  in 
these  days,  prowling  about  to  circumvent  the  innocent 
damsels,  looking  more  after  the  enjoyment  of  what 
they  have  than  the  pleasures  of  true  love. 

Harvard  College,  the  school  and  the  town  of  Boston, 
are  likewise  remembered  in  the  will,  as  well  as  several 
of  the  ministers,  quite  a  number  of  individuals  who 
had  befriended  him  in  one  way  and  another,  and  his 
"  three  negars." 

Though  it  is  apparent  that  Mr.  Keayne  had  what 
Dr.  Johnson  calls  an  unpliable  understanding,  and 
was  prone  to  greet  his  offending  neighbors  with  such 
epithets  as  sounded  very  unlike  blessings ;  and  though 
he  was  entirely  unable  to  so  discipline  himself  as  to 
pass  unnoticed  the  common  annoyances  and  small 
indignities  of  life,  it  is  yet  apparent  that  he  was  far 
from  being  ungrateful.  And  gratitude  is  one  of  the 
most  corrective  and  ennobling  traits. 


ROBERT  KEAYNE. 


The  will,  though  singular  in  many  of  its  provisions 
and  details,  and  particularly  in  its  summaries,  and 
though  constructed  in  a  strange  manner,  bears  evi- 
dence, nevertheless,  of  having  been  prepared  consci- 
entiously and  with  a  strong  desire  to  make  the  riches 
which  were  soon  to  fall  from  his  grasp  subserve  some 
good  end.  He  seems  to  have  suspected  that  the  doc- 
ument might  meet  with  criticism,  for  he  says  in  a 
codicil.  "  It  is  very  likely,  those  wch  come  to  heare, 
or  reade  over  this  my  will,  may  meete  with  some 
tawtollegies  wch  they  may  thinke  to  be  vaine  repeti- 
tions ;  and  some  censure  it  to  be  of  an  vnsettled 
minde,  as  if  I  was  not  compus  mentis.  I  would  pray 
them  not  so  to  thinke,  but  impute  it  to  the  weaknes 
of  my  memory." 

Mr.  Keayne  died  in  Boston,  on  the  23d  of  March, 
1656.  He  was  a  man  of  medium  stature,  active,  and 
capable  of  great  physical  endurance.  He  was  very 
particular  about  his  personal  appearance,  and  in  defi- 
ance of  the  censures  of  the  Court  and  the  church, 
would  have  his  dress-doublet  trimmed  with  gold  lace, 
and  allow  his  hair  to  sport  in  tresses  of  scandalous 
length.  He  persisted  also  in  wearing  great  boots  — 
so  enormous,  indeed,  that  he  could  comfortably  have 
walked  home  with  half  a  peck  of  clams  in  each.  This 
was  a  great  offence  to  his  law-abiding  neighbors,  and 
the  source  of  unfeigned  grief  to  his  brothers  and 
sisters  of  the  spiritual  fold.  His  intemperance  was 
innocence  compared  with  it.  The  Governor  himself 
was  greatly  moved  by  his  persistency,  and  on  several 
occasions,  while  seated  on  the  bench  near  the  door 
of  the  Colony  House,  labored  with  him  against  the 
F*  9 


I3O  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

indecorum  and  impiety,  pointing  significantly  to  the 
stocks  on  the  other  side  of  the  way,  as  the  place  to 
which  the  evil  one  was  luring  him  by  those  leather 
decoys. 

Over  his  left  eye  was  a  conspicuous  scar ;  and 
though  he  at  different  periods  alleged  that  it  was  pro- 
duced by  various  honorable  encounters,  I  feel  called 
upon  to  state  the  following  as  the  true  occasion : 
Some  half  dozen  Indians  strolled  into  his  store,  one 
morning,  bringing  a  bundle  of  valuable  furs  for  sale. 
Having  a  large  dead  stock  of  fine-tooth  combs  on 
hand,  he  at  once  offered  to  each  of  the  Indians  one 
of  these  for  his  share  of  the  furs.  They  did  not  know 
what  the  things  were  made  for ;  and  so  he  proceeded 
to  give  a  practical  lesson  in  their  use.  And  as  the 
insect  shower  fell  on  the  counter  from  the  docile 
head  that  leaned  over,  they  were  quite  astonished; 
but  yet  with  provoking  coolness  signified  their  distrust 
of  the  expediency  of  so  disturbing  the  peaceful  inhab- 
itants of  their  polls,  and  began  to  gaze  around  for 
some  other  article  of  barter.  Just  then  a  happy 
thought  seized  him.  He  wrapped  a  thin  paper  about 
one  of  the  combs,  and  putting  it  to  his  lips  produced 
such  dulcet  strains  as  proved  irresistible  to  the  dusky 
traders.  Not  another  word  was  required.  Each  took 
his  instrument,  and  they  all  marched  off  playing  in 
high  glee. 

By  the  time  they  had  arrived  home  they  were  quite 
exhausted  from  the  expenditure  of  breath.  And  being 
tired  of  blowing,  they  undertook,  after  taking  a  meal 
and  resting,  to  put  the  combs  to  a  legitimate  use  on 
the  heads  of  their  squaws.  Not  being  adepts  in  the 


ROBERT    KEAYNE.  131 

use  of  the  implements,  they  held  them  upright  and 
with  all  their  might  sawed  down  upon  the  greasy 
pates.  The  harrowing  was  fearful,  and  the  struggles 
of  the  poor  women  under  the  torture  so  desperate 
that  it  required  all  the  power  of  the  operators  to  hold 
them.  The  blood  fell  in  profusion,  and  hosts  of  the 
animalcule  were  drowned  in  the  red  seas  thus  formed. 
By  this  violent  use,  interspersed  by  an  occasional 
whetting  on  a  rough  stone,  the  combs  were  soon 
in  a  dilapidated  condition.  So  they  sent  one  of  their 
number  back  to  Mr.  Keayne  with  the  fragments,  and 
full  authority  to  demand  satisfaction  —  but  satisfaction 
for  what,  did  not  readily  occur  to  the  merchant  as  he 
contemplated  the  basket  of  limbs  and  skeletons.  His 
ire  kindled  as  the  tawny  diplomatist  began  to  wax 
impudent,  and  he  presently  sent  the  whole  collection, 
basket  and  all,  whizzing  into  the  road,  and  in  very 
strong  terms  recommended  his  visitor  to  follow  them, 
at  quick  step,  if  he  valued  his  bodily  health.  And 
going  to  the  door  he  accelerated  the  motion  of  the 
retreating  savage  by  a  threat  of  confinement  in  the 
pillory,  a  threat  which  had  a  peculiar  terror  to  him, 
as  he  had  once  before  experienced  the  enjoyments 
of  that  reformatory  institution.  But  as  he  departed, 
he  muttered  such  threats  as  indicated  the  rising  of  a 
counter  squall. 

It  was  but  a  few  mornings  after  the  unsatisfactory 
conference  of  Mr.  Keayne  with  the  Indian,  just  de- 
tailed, that,  as  he  was  hastening  down  the  lane  toward 
his  store,  an  arrow,  shot  with  murderous  force  from 
behind  a  tree,  struck  him  just  above  the  eye,  inflicting 
a  very  serious  wound.  He  was  stunned,  but  rcmem- 


132  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

bered  seeing  an  Indian  spring  over  the  wall  and  dash 
off  toward  the  Roxbury  road,  and  hearing  him  ejacu- 
late in  excited  snatches,  "  Ho,  bad  white  man  !  cheat 
Indjan!  sick  head-rakes !  shoot!  Indjan  drunk!  swear! 
shoot ! "  The  wound  healed,  but  the  scar  remained, 
answering  the  useful  purposes  before  alluded  to. 

But  we  must  now  part  company  with  Mr.  Keayne. 
And  as  his  form  recedes,  may  be  allowed  whisperingly 
to  remark  that  he  was  a  man,  who,  notwithstanding 
his  faults,  had  influential  and  steadfast  friends ;  and 
who,  notwithstanding  his  virtues,  had  persistent  and 
rancorous  enemies.  Indeed  it  is  only  the  lukewarm 
that  has  neither  friend  nor  enemy  ;  and  he  was  any 
thing  but  lukewarm.  That  he  was  irritable  and,  far 
too  much  inclined  to  resent  small  indignities  is  no 
doubt  true  ;  and  that  was  enough  to  give  him  a  sort 
of  neighborhood  unpopularity.  But  yet,  in  great 
matters,  he  was  able  to  take  a  fair  and  comprehensive 
view  ;  and  this  gave  him  influence  in  public  affairs. 
He  was  selfish  ;  but  in  pursuing  his  ends,  if  he  could 
also  promote  the  public  good  he  was  glad  to  do  it. 
In  other  words,  he  delighted  to  help  the  public  if  he 
could  do  so  while  helping  himself ;  and  hence,  while 
some  denounced  him  as  a  mere  selfish  grasper,  others 
called  him  public-spirited.  Alas,  how  much  of  what 
the  world  calls  magnanimity  and  generosity,  after  all 
springs  from  arrant  selfishness. 

He  saw  that  agriculture  and  the  fisheries  must  for 
many  years  be  the  chief  productive  employments 
of  the  settlers,  and  with  alacrity  set  about  doing  what 
he  could  to  promote  those  interests.  He  imported 


ROBERT   KEAYNE.  133 

three  of  the  first  plows  that  ever  scratched  the  rough 
back  of  New  England,  and  immediately  rented  them 
out  to  the  farmers.  True,  he  gained  something,  and 
the  surly  farmers  enjoyed  grumbling  at  what  they 
thought  his  unreasonable  demands  ;  but  the  small 
husbandry  of  the  times  was  greatly  benefited  by  his 
plows.  He  also  invested  in  certain  improved  spin- 
ning-wheels, which  he  let  out  to  indigent  dames,  in 
the  same  way,  who  grumbled,  as  the  wheels  rumbled, 
about  his  exactions.  Poor  human  nature !  It  is 
even  so  with  the  benevolent  gentlemen  of  our  day 
who  rent  to  those  who  are  too  poor  to  purchase,  those 
other  household  necessities  —  piano  fortes  —  whose 
music  has  now  altogether  superseded  the  vulgar  mu- 
sic of  the  spinning-wheel.  He  also  imported  some 
improved  fishing  gear,  and  thus  helped  the  fishermen 
who  growled  at  his  pi  ices  as  they  counted  over  their 
increased  fares  ;  though  the  poor  sore-mouthed  fishes 
had  the  best  reason  to  complain. 

In  his  course  as  a  member  of  the  General  Court, 
it  is  evident  that  right,  rather  than  expediency,  was 
his  guiding  star,  the  chilling  sentiment  of  the  English 
peer  who  declared  that  conscience  was  unparliament- 
ary, finding  no  response  in  his  mind.  And  it  is  a 
blessed  thing  that  the  legislators  of  our  day  so  univer- 
sally follow  his  example.  And  it  will  do  no  harm  to 
remind  the  reader  that  in  the  course  of  this  sketch  it 
has  sufficiently  appeared  that  the  Court  at  that  .time 
was  no  respecter  of  persons  ;  no  white-washer  of 
delinquents,  high  or  low  ;  no  disguiser  of  miscarriages 
under  softened  terms  which  change  what  should  be 
stern  censures  into  almost  sycophantic  praise.  And 


134  n-      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

this  was  right  and  wholesome  —  better  for  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Court  itself,  and  better  far  for  the  public 
interest  and  for  the  maintenance  of  good  morals. 

He  left  the  world  in  vigorous  Christian  faith  and 
hope,  though,  as  has  already  appeared,  he  could  not 
forego  the  opportunity  to  lash  some  of  his  enemies, 
in  his  last  will  and  testament.  Let  us  think  kindly 
of  his  frailties,  for  we  do  not  know  how  hard  he  strug- 
gled against  them.  We  all  regard  the  vices  and  temp- 
tations of  our  fellow-men  as  of  easy  conquest ;  but 
when  the  battle  is  our  own,  we  are  apt  to  find  that 
even  small  vices  and  evil  habits  can  maintain  an 
obstinate,  prolonged,  and  often  successful  contest. 


HACHALIAH  GROUT. 

MR.  GROUT  was  a  Representative  for  the  first  time, 
I  think,  in  1650.  But  from  that  period,  "off  and  on," 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Court  for  some  twenty-five 
years.  He  came  over  among  the  early  immigrants, 
being  then  quite  a  young  man,  and  appears  for  a  long 
time  to  have  sustained  the  character  and  experienced 
the  fortunes  of  a  rolling  stone.  His  first  residence 
was  in  Dorchester.  A  few  years  after,  we  find  him 
in  Taunton  ;  then  in  Sudbury  ;  and  presently  he  had 
rolled  on  to  one  of  the  eastern  settlements. 

He  was  characterized  by  sterling  honesty  of  pur- 
pose, and  strong  will,  without  an  excess  of  familiarity  ; 


HACHALIAH   GROUT.  135 

and  on  the  whole  possessed  those  qualities  which,  in 
the  absence  of  powerful  drawbacks,  give  influence 
and  ensure  success.  Being  for  such  a  period  a  rolling 
stone  he  could  not  gather  much  of  the  moss  of  mam- 
mon ;  but  he  always  managed  to  live  comfortably, 
having  early  contracted  habits  of  industry  and  frugal- 
ity,'those  best  of  sureties  against  want.  Most  people 
understand  that  success  in  life  means  the  accumula- 
tion of  riches  ;  but  that  is  a  miserably  low  estimate 
of  life's  duties,  and  would  leave  the  best  part  of  the 
race  out  in  the  cold,  so  to  speak. 

In  person,  Mr.  Grout  was  tall  and  straight,  with 
wiry  hair,  and  a  slight  turn  of  the  eye ;  the  latter 
being  useful  to  him  as  a  politician,  as  it  enabled  him, 
if  not  to  look  two  ways  at  the  same  time,  at  least  to 
look  in  such  a  way  that  others  were  puzzled  to  deter- 
mine in  what  direction  he  did  look.  His  step  was 
quick,  the  heel  always  striking  first,  and  then  the  ball 
of  the  foot,  causing  a  double  sound,  so  that  sometimes 
when  he  approached  unseen,  he  frightened  people, 
who  thought  that  some  four-footed  animal  was  coming 
upon  them.  And  once  he  gave  to  a  house  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  haunted,  from  traveling,  during  a  night, 
up  and  down  stairs  and  about  an  unoccupied  garret 
which  he  had  hired  to  spread  corn  in.  The  poor 
people  below  thought  that  surely  the  evil  one  was 
rambling  about,  with  his  goat  team. 

In  the  House,  Mr.  Grout  was  ready  in  debate,  and 
as  a  part  of  his  generalship  made  some  show  of  pug- 
nacity ;  though  that  was  more  apparent  than  real,  for 
he  was  of  a  pacific  disposition.  As  he  stood  earnestly 
engaged  in  a  war  of  words,  his  right  leg  would  keep 


136  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

swinging  or  twitching  backward  and  forward  in  such 
a  demonstrative  manner  as  to  impress  an  antagonist 
with  the  apprehension  that  a  kick  was  reasonably  to 
be  feared  if  other  arguments  proved  ineffectual. 

Law  maker  though  he  was,  Mr.  Grout  had  great 
repugnance  to  law  as  a  remedy  for  the  common  little 
wrongs  of  life,  though  he  was  at  one  time  appointed 
by  the  Court  to  adjudicate  in  "small  cawses,"  in  the 
town  where  he  lived.  If  there  were  more  like  him, 
in  every  age  and  community,  in  his  disposition  to 
avoid  little  judicial  contentions,  it  would  be  a  millenial 
blessing.  His  experience  among  the  small  causes 
was  quite  sufficient  to  satisfy  him  of  the  incalculable 
amount  of  social  bickering  and  heart-burning  pro- 
duced by  such  means  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  loss  of 
time  and  profitless  expenditure.  In  every  little  com- 
munity, I  am  sorry  to  say,  may  always  be  found 
individuals  who  are  everlastingly  precipitating  them- 
selves into  the  seething  cauldron  of  the  law,  and 
dragging  their  peaceful  neighbors  with  them.  Some- 
times, I  suppose,  they  do  it  from  a  craving  for  excite- 
ment ;  sometimes  for  amusement,  though  for  that 
purpose  it  is  rather  costly  ;  but  more  often  from  sheer 
ugliness.  Such  people  are  social  nuisances.  It  is 
never  difficult  for  a  quarrelsome  individual  to  find 
matter  for  litigation  ;  his  own  atmosphere  breeds  it ; 
and  the  dissensions  he  may  foster  and  downright 
losses  and  wrongs  he  may  inflict  are  most  unpleasant 
to  contemplate. 

Mr.  Grout  had  a  way  of  dealing  with  such  pests 
which  was  generally  as  effectual  as  it  was  summary, 
lie  would  boldly  constitute  himself  judge,  jury,  and 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  137 

prosecuting  officer,  and  admit  no  appeal.  Often,  when 
he  heard  of  a  threatened  law-suit  between  neighbors, 
he  would  forthwith  repair  to  the  parties,  make  them, 
face  to  face,  state  their  grievances,  cross-question 
them,  and  then,  after  silent  deliberation  —  during 
the  solemn  interval,  standing  with  his  hands  clasped 
behind  him,  and  looking  fixedly  upon  the  ground,  as 
if  conferring  with  his  fellow  worms  —  in  the  most 
peremptory  if  not  acrid  terms  notify  them  as  to  what 
was  required  of  each.  Being  a  man  of  sound  sense, 
quick  discernment,  and  irresistible  determination,  his 
decisions  were  generally  complied  with,  after  a  little 
grumbling.  But  if  ever  his  ire  kindled  it  was  when 
his  good  offices  were  treated  with  scorn.  It  would 
be  easy  to  present  numerous  instances  in  which  his 
interference  was  productive  of  much  good  and  highly 
applauded  by  the  most  considerate.  But  not  much 
room  can  be  spared  for  such  details.  One  or  two 
instances,  however,  should  be  given. 

At  one  time  two  neighbors  of  his,  a  farmer  and  a 
tanner,  became  involved  in  a  difficulty,  and  were  about 
launching  into  the  troubled  waters  of  a  law-suit,  which 
threatened  to  be  more  than  commonly  vexatious  and 
expensive.  The  origin  of  the  contention  was  this : 
The  tanner's  cow  had  made  a  raid  into  the  cornfield 
of  the  farmer,  and  carried  off  all  the  forage  she  could 
possibly  stow  into  the  natural  receptacle  she  had  with 
her.  And  besides  that,  she  destroyed  a  great  deal 
more  by  trampling  and  half  masticating.  The  farmer, 
unfortunately,  was  not  of  a  very  forbearing  disposition, 
and  becoming  quite  enraged  on  beholding  the  havoc, 
not  only  demanded  exorbitant  compensation  for  the 


138  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

damage,  but  showered  an  abundance  of  left-handed 
blessings  upon  the  cow  and  her  owner,  besides  assail- 
ing the  cloven-footed  trespasser  with  the  more  effective 
instruments  of  abuse,  stones  and  clubs.  He  was, 
indeed,  so  profuse  in  his  threats  and  denunciations, 
that  the  tanner,  a  man  in  general  very  circumspect, 
became  exceedingly  incensed. 

Matters  were  in  this  delicate  posture  when  the 
farmer,  a  few  days  after,  it  being  Sunday,  was  sedately 
pursuing  his  way  to  meeting,  through  the  lane  that 
led  by  the  tanner's  vats.  When  opposite  the  most 
capacious  pit  he  heard  a  splashing  and  piteous  moan, 
as  if  proceeding  from  a  sufferer  in  the  last  struggles. 

He  ran  up  to  the  stone  wall,  and  looking  over,  had 
the  pleasure  of  beholding  the  identical  cow  whose 
unrestrained  appetite  for  green  corn  had  occasioned 
the  breach  between  her  master  and  himself,  flounder- 
ing in  the  unsavory  liquor  of  the  vat.  She  had  evi- 
dently fallen  in  during  the  night,  and  was  now  almost 
entirely  exhausted  by  her  efforts  to  escape.  His  first 
impulse  was,  as  that  of  every  good  man  would  be,  to 
leap  over  and  see  what  he  could  do,  or  to  summon 
help  for  her  rescue.  But  then  he  remembered  that  it 
was  the  Sabbath-day,  a  day  on  which  he  should  ab- 
stain from  labor ;  and  labor  it  certainly  would  be  to 
engage  in  her  deliverance.  Perhaps  he  did  not  re- 
member what  the  Savior  himself  said  about  rescuing, 
on  the  Sabbath,  the  ox  or  the  ass  which  had  fallen 
into  the  pit ;  or  if  he  did  remember  it,  he  probably 
remembered  more  vividly  the  devastation  in  his  corn- 
field committed  by  the  dying  beast  before  him,  who 
was  neither  an  ox  nor  an  ass,  but  a  cow. 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  139 

Remembering  or  forgetting,  however,  the  execrable 
hypocrite  passed  on,  leaving  the  poor  animal  to  her 
fate.  How  he  could  have  spurned  the  appeals  of  those 
great  blood-shot  eyes,  cast  so  imploringly  upon  him, 
or  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  those  distressing  moans,  it  is 
hard  to  conceive.  But  on  he  went,  as  unconcerned 
as  if  it  were  but  a  great  bullfrog  sporting  there.  And 
he  afterward  had  the  effrontery  to  make  a  merit  of  his 
brutal  conduct,  boasting  that  his  religious  principle 
had  triumphed  over  his  sympathies.  This  hypocrisy 
greatly  provoked  -the  tanner,  who  could  not  restrain 
himself  from  making  particular  mention  of  it  in  one 
of  his  prayers  at  a  church  meeting,  the  farmer  being 
present. 

In  the  position  of  things  between  the  farmer  and 
tanner,  as  just  detailed,  the  law  was  appealed  to  ;  or 
rather  the  lawyers  were.  On  either  side  there  was 
assurance  of  a  good  case,  and  the  promise  of  good 
picking,  for  both  the  antagonists  were  well-to-do  in 
a  worldly  way.  Mr.  Grout  now  interposed.  He 
took  the  two  men  first  into  the  corn-field,  heard  their 
statements  and  estimated  the  damages.  Then  he 
conducted  them  to  the  brink  of  the  fatal  vat,  beside 
which  lay  the  empty  hide  of  the  poor  cow.  Here  he 
took  a  deliberate  survey,  and  then  sat  down  on  a 
stump,  where,  with  his  hands  on  his  knees  and  his 
eye  upon  the  hide,  he  remained  pondering  till  the 
other  two  thought  he  was  dozing.  But  he  was  wake- 
ful enough  ;  and  finally,  having  fully  digested  the 
matter,  in  a  determinate  tone  bade  the  two  come 
before  him.  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  Rufus  and  Zephaniah, 
you  must  first  repeat  after  me  this  scripture  — '  Thou 


I4O  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.' "  And  he  made 
them  do  it.  Then,  rising  from  his  stump,  with  the 
most  perfect  assurance  he  told  each  what  he  was  to 
do  —  what  he  must  do  —  what  he  should  do.  His 
manner  was  emphatic,  authoritative,  and  with  no 
alternative.  The  tanner,  with  commendable  readiness 
signified  his  submission.  But  the  farmer  was  more 
obdurate,  and  stood  in  surly  mood,  with  his  head 
down,  kicking  little  stones  and  sticks  into  the  vat. 

By  and  by,  after  making  one  or  two  attempts  to 
sneak  off,  and  being  peremptorily  ordered  back  by 
Mr.  Grout,  the  farmer  began  to  grow  more  demon- 
strative, though  he  was  still  under  some  constraint  in 
view  of  the  strong  arms  swinging  loosely  in  his  vicin- 
ity. He  offered  to  settle  the  controversy  by  blows, 
and  did  not  see  how  that  could  be  denied  seeing  they 
were  all  members  of  the  same  church  ;  and  having 
heard  that  the  law  of  England  had  always  recognized 
the  right  of  wager  of  battle.  But  his  challenge  being 
positively  declined,  he  returned  to  his  former  com- 
forting employment  of  kicking  stones  and  sticks. 
Suddenly,  as  if  by  some  demoniac  impulse,  he  made 
a  spring  at  his  antagonist,  who  stood  just  on  the 
brink  of  the  pit,  and  who,  by  some  good  fortune  at 
that  very  moment  happened  to  step  aside.  So  away 
went  the  rampant  farmer  plump  over  head  and  ears 
into  the  filthy  liquid. 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  under  the  circum- 
stances he  should  much  enjoy  his  bath,  or  desire 
long  to  remain  in  it.  After  discharging  through  the 
channel  of  his  foul  mouth  a  portion  of  what  he  had 
involuntarily  swallowed,  he  tried  to  scramble  out. 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  14! 

But  the  strong  arm  of  Mr.  Grout  seized  him  by  the 
scarf  around  his  neck,  and  he  was  commanded  to 
pause  and  listen  to  a  wholesome  suggestion  or  two 
before  he  would  be  allowed  to  shake  himself  on  dry 
land.  He  was  instructed  to  regard  his  distasteful 
submersion  as  a  special  ordination  of  Providence,  to 
punish  him  for  his  cruelty  to  the  poor  beast  he  had 
left  to  perish  there,  and  whose  green  hide  now  lay 
before  him.  Furthermore  he  was  instructed  —  the 
instruction  being  enforced  by  a  twist  of  the  scarf — 
that  he  must  regard  as  a  special  ordination  the  fact 
that  he  who  had  him  so  securely  by  the  neck  would 
not  release  him  till  he  signified  his  willingness  to 
accept  the  terms  propounded. 

Casting  a  rueful  look  around  the  disgusting  little 
dead  sea  in  which  he  stood  immersed  almost  to  his 
chin,  and  where  he  could  not  comfort  himself  with 
kicking  stones  and  sticks,  and  withal  growing  chilly, 
as  it  was  a  frosty  morning,  he  finally,  with  chattering 
teeth,  gave  a  sullen  assent.  Then  he  was  readily 
helped  to  land.  Immediately,  by  the  advice  of  Mr. 
Grout,  he  set  off  on  a  dog-trot  for  home.  He  never 
afterward  expressed  any  desire  to  annul  the  terms  to 
which  he  had  assented  under  such  singular  duress ; 
but  reflecting  on  his  hitherto  wayward  temper  earn- 
estly set  about  reforming.  And  he  became  a  wiser 
and  better  man.  Years  after,  he  often  referred,  in 
his  prayers  and  exhortations,  to  having  been  once 
"floundering  in  the  miry  pit,"  from  which  he  was 
rescued  by  a  strong  arm  ;  and  gave  thanks  for  the 
merciful  interposition  to  wash  out  the  stains  of  his 
natural  depravity. 


142  •    II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

After  the  farmer  had  left  the  pit,  Mr.  Grout  took 
his  way  home,  conscious  of  having  done  a  good 
morning's  work.  Then  followed  the  tanner,  sorrow- 
fully dragging  the  garment  of  which  the  poor  cow 
had  been  disrobed,  and  which  was  the  only  one  she 
had  ever  worn.  And  then  a  bevy  of  crows  came 
over  the  hills,  vociferously  cawing  as  if  demanding  to 
know  what  was  to  be  done  about  their  share  of  the 
bovine  spoils. 

One  other  example  of  Mr.  Grout's  way  of  restoring 
peace  between  neighbors  must  suffice. 

He  had  been  informed  of  a  rancorous  dispute 
between  a  couple  of  adjoining  land  proprietors,  con- 
cerning a  certain  boundary.  So  he  made  the  parties 
accompany  him  to  the  disputed  territory,  and  there 
point  out  their  respective  claims.  This  done,  and  a 
thorough  examination  having  been  had,  he  assumed 
his  ruminating  posture,  from  which  in  due  time  he 
returned  with  an  air  of  satisfaction  and  full  determin- 
ation, and  ordered  the  disputants  to  drive  down  a 
stake  here,  another  there,  and  another  yonder  ;  which 
being  done,  he  announced  that  thus  should  run  the 
boundary  line. 

Arbitration  most  commonly  leaves  both  parties 
dissatisfied  ;  and  so  it  did  in  this  case.  Each  per- 
sisted in  his  determination  to  appeal  to  the  law. 
"  But  you  shall  not  appeal  to  the  law  nor  to  any  thing 
else,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Grout,  resolutely,  "  there  is  no 
law  to  be  wasted  on  such  wolfins  as  you  ;  but  you 
shall  have  justice.  There  are  your  bounds,  and  you 
must  abide  by  them.  So  now,  we  will  all  go  home 
good  friends.  Come,  come,  don't  be  surly."  But  they 


HACHALIAH    GROUT:  143 

were  surly,  notwithstanding,  and  from  high  words 
seemed  fast  approaching  blows. 

It  may  surprise  some  to  observe  how  often  our 
ancestors,  even  the  dignified  and  pious,  were  accus- 
tomed to  try  their  titles  and  settle  their  business 
affairs  by  blows.  The  lively  contest  between  Gover- 
nor Endicott  and  Mr.  Dexter,  shows  something  of  the 
prevailing  spirit  of  pugnacity.  The  appeal  to  battle 
was  a  favorite  scare-crow,  too,  with  many  who  had 
not  the  courage  of  a  crow,  but  who  found  it  often  to 
answer  their  villainous  ends.  Yet  it  was  an  acknow- 
ledged right  of  the  British  subject  even  down  to  a 
time  quite  within  the  memory  of  many  now  living ; 
a  right  for  which  we  may  thank  our  refined  Norman 
ancestors. 

But  we  must  go  back  and  find  our  enraged  heroes. 
There  they  are  waxing  warm  for  a  sanguinary  encoun- 
ter. And  it  surely  would  have  taken  place,  if  the 
strong  arm  of  Mr.  Grout  had  not  held  them  asunder. 
But  casting  his  eye  toward  an  adjacent  swamp  he  all 
at  once  seemed  to  receive  a  new  light  which  twinkled 
knowingly  in  his  eye.  "  Well,  well,"  said  he,  much  to 
their  surprise,  "  on  the  whole  you  may  have  a  battle  ; 
but  I  shall  choose  your  cudgels,  and  stand  by  to  see 
fair  play." 

The  preliminaries  were  soon  settled,  and  drawing 
on  his  fox-skin  gloves  he  went  to  the  edge  of  the 
swamp  and  returned  with  the  chosen  weapons,  which 
he  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  belligerents.  They 
grasped  them,  and  separately,  for  a  few  minutes,  swung 
and  thrust  them  about,  with  great  vigor  to  get  the 
proper  hang ;  and  then  having  spat  on  their  hands 


144  n-       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

and  rolled  the  handle  ends  in  their  mouths,  gal- 
lantly approached  each  other.  But  at  this  juncture 
Mr.  Grout,  in  great  apparent  excitement,  besought 
them  to  pause,  and  drop  their  weapons,  declaring  that 
he  now  perceived  that  he  had  unfortunately  provided 
batons  of  dog-wood,  which,  worse  than  two  edged 
swords  might  deal  destruction  to  those  wielding  them 
as  well  as  to  the  enemy.  Perhaps  it  was  by  accident 
that  he  provided  the  poisonous  sticks,  though  his 
putting  on  the  fox-skin  gloves  and  the  knowing  twin- 
kle in  his  eye  before  going  in  quest  of  them  might  be 
taken  into  account  in  deciding  the  important  ques- 
tion. Be  that  as  it  may,  however,  no  sooner  was  the 
affrighting  name  dog-wood  uttered  than  the  weapons 
dropped  from  the  trembling  hands,  and  the  combat- 
ants commenced  rubbing  their  palms  on  their  leather 
breeches,  and  with  great  violence  ejecting  all  they 
could  from  their  mouths,  excepting  words,  to  which, 
in  their  terror,  they  gave  no  encouragement.  But  by 
their  efforts  they  probably  rubbed  in  rather  than 
rubbed  out  the  subtle  poison. 

Seeing  their  ludicrous  efforts,  Mr.  Grout,  very  much 
against  his  ordinary  custom,  broke  out  into  a  broad 
laugh  ;  and  presently  both  of  the  others  followed  his 
wholesome  example.  Thus  was  good  nature  restored. 
And  the  next  step  was  a  full  reconciliation  and  ac- 
ceptance of  the  terms  proposed  by  the  eccentric 
arbitrator.  Never  say,  then,  that  a  good  laugh  is  a 
vain  invention.  But  the  perversity  of  the  two  neigh- 
bors did  not  go  unpunished.  They  were  both  laid 
up  a  full  month,  and  suffered  greatly  from  the  poison. 
It  was  sorrowful  to  Mr.  Grout  —  who  could  not  have 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  145 

anticipated  any  such  painful  result  of  the  half-jocose 
part  he  played  —  as  he  visited  them  while  they  were 
burning  and  tossing  on  their  beds,  to  see  their  heads 
swelled  to  a  frightful  size,  weighing  down  their  giant 
limbs,  which  were  so  sensitive  that  a  pin's  weight- 
was  intolerable.  But  delightful  was  it  to  him  as  he 
saw  now  and  then  a  little  inflamed  gash  open  in  the 
front  of  those  heads,  to  hear  issue  thence  plaintive 
words  of  regret  for  past  contumacy  and  hopes  that 
the  providential  sufferings  then  endured  might  result 
in  permanent  good. 

These  two  incidents  very  well  illustrate  one  con- 
spicuous point  in  the  character  of  Mr.  Grout.  And 
all  will  agree  that  it  was  no  mean  point.  Blessed 
are  the  peace-makers.  Reconciliations  always  impart 
comfort  to  the  vexed  mind.  What  is  sweeter  than 
the  reconciliation  of  lovers ;  what  more  satisfying  than 
the  reconciliation  of  neighbors  ;  what  more  animating 
than  the  reconciliation  of  one  to  his  own  self. 

But  it  is  time  to  pass  on  to  other  points  in  the 
character  of  Mr.  Grout. 

He  was  a  sturdy  Commonwealth-man,  and  hailed, 
with  the  most  fervid  joy,  the  reports  of  the  successes 
of  the  parliamentary  arms,  regarding  Cromwell  as  a 
sort  of  political  St.  Paul.  He  was  an  enthusiastic 
advocate  for  political  freedom,  and  was  ready,  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  to  express  his  sentiments 
and  convictions.  And  by  the  way,  such  expression, 
out  of  season,  is  what  often  gets  a  politician  into  hot 
water,  to  speak  metaphorically.  It  is  clear  that  an 
early  and  entire  separation  from  the  mother  country 
was  contemplated  by  many.  And,  with  a  handful 

G  IO 


146  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

of  others,  our  sanguine  friend  declared  for  independ- 
ence, when  there  were  not  enough  people  here  even 
to  ensure  safety  against  wild  beasts,  to  say  nothing 
about  Indians ;  when,  indeed,  they  were  so  weak 
that  their  very  feebleness  prevented  any  notice  being 
taken  of  their  vaporing. 

While  Cromwell  ruled,  New  England  came  very 
near  being  independent,  he  appearing  rather  to  favor 
than  oppose  what  seemed  to  be  inevitable,  at  least 
in  the  future.  But  the  Restoration  changed  the 
current  of  some  of  the  pleasant  dreams,  and  the  most 
sanguine  felt  that  the  fruit  of  their  sweet  hopes  might 
be  a  long  time  ripening.  And  not  only  that,  but 
just  fears  arose  that  punishment  would  follow  some 
of  the  high-handed  acts  of  the  colonists  —  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  mint  at  Boston,  for  instance,  from 
which  issued  the  pine-tree  coins  —  acts  which  would 
hardly  have  been  attempted  by  a  people  who  did  not 
imagine  themselves  about  able  to  toddle  along  with- 
out leading-strings. 

The  poor  regicides,  Goff  and  Whalley,  who  arrived 
at  Boston  in  the  summer  of  1660,  found  in  Mr.  Grout 
a  ready  sympathiser  and  courageous  friend.  He  it 
was  who  introduced  them  into  the  General  Court, 
soon  after  their  arrival,  and  at  once  moved  that  they 
"  haue  libertie  of  ye  Hows."  What  precisely  was 
meant  by  liberty  of  the  House,  I  do  not  know,  but 
suppose  the  intent  was  to  allow  them  to  take  part  in 
the  debates.  Unquestionably  their  ability  and  know- 
ledge of  political  science  would  have  given  them  great 
influence  and  done  much  to  promote  the  interests 
of  the  Colony ;  but  I  do  not  learn  that  they  were 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  147 

ever  guilty  of  taking  so  unbecoming  a  step  as  to  raise 
their  voices  in  the  assembly.  They,  however,  visited 
the  Court  several  times,  listened  attentively  to  the 
debates,  and  freely  interchanged  opinions  with  the 
members  ;  winning  respect  and  cordial  sympathy  by 
their  extensive  knowledge  and  agreeable  manners. 
But  their  days  of  freedom  and  safety  were  soon  num- 
bered, and  they  were  compelled  to  dodge  hither  and 
thither,  hiding  their  venerable  heads  from  the  base 
wretches  who  were  put  upon  their  scent.  It  may 
be  remarked  of  these  two  famed  regicide  judges,  in 
passing,  that  Whalley  was  a  lieutenant-general  and 
Goff  a  major-general  under  Cromwell ;  and  hence  it 
appears  they  possessed  military  skill  as  well  as  legal 
knowledge  and  moral  heroism. 

It  was  while  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  the 
House,  that  the  judges  for  the  first  time  came  near 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  vindictive  crown  officers. 
They  were  sitting  in  an  obscure  corner,  on  a  side 
bench,  listening  to  a  speech  from  a  Boston  member, 
it  being  near  the  close  of  an  afternoon  session,  and 
almost  dark.  In  front  of  them  stood  Mr.  Grout,  with 
one  foot  resting  on  the  birch  block  from  which  he 
had  just  risen,  when  a  couple  of  burly  men  entered 
in  rather  a  sly  way,  and  took  seats  on  either  side 
of  the  door.  The  alert  eye  of  our  friend  detected 
their  close  watchfulness  of  the  refugees,  for  whose 
arrest  it  was  sure  an  ample  reward  would  be  paid, 
and  through  the  gathering  gloom,  he  kept  as  strict  a 
watch  on  them  as  they  on  the  judges.  Presently  he 
earnestly  whispered  to  two  or  three  of  the  most  val- 
orous and  able-bodied  members,  who  directed  furtive 


148  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

glances  at  the  suspicious  intruders,  and  nodded  know- 
ingly. Then  he  whispered  with  the  judges  themselves, 
who  could  not  conceal  their  alarm,  at  first,  but  upon 
his  almost  passionate  pantomimic  assurances  of  safety, 
remained  quiet. 

The  Court  soon  adjourned,  and  the  members  who 
had  been  whispered  with,  formed  themselves  into  a 
sort  of  body-guard  of  the  regicides,  falling  in,  however, 
in  such  an  informal  way  as  to  excite  no  observation. 
Scarcely  had  the  group  left  the  building,  when  a  rush 
was  made  by  the  two  on  whom  suspicions  had  so 
naturally  fallen  ;  arid  they  seemed  to  be  aided  by 
others  who  had  remained  posted  outside.  The  object 
evidently  was  to  secure  Goff  and  Whalley  ;  and  their 
body-guard  might  have  been  overpowered  had  not 
other  members  hastened  to  their  assistance  —  these 
new  recruits  not  probably  knowing  what  occasioned 
the  conflict,  but  feeling  it  safe  to  fight  on  the  side 
Mr.  Grout  had  espoused.  The  conspirators  were 
defeated,  and  by  great  good  luck,  our  hero,  who  was 
most  active  in  the  lively  struggle,  escaped  with  no  fur- 
ther damage  than  a  temporary  flattening  of  the  nose. 

The  sanguinary  field  was  soon  evacuated  by  both 
parties,  and  presently,  amid  the  gathering  darkness, 
the  dusky  forms  of  the  late  combatants  appeared, 
picturesquely  squatted  around  the  neutral  ground  of  a 
mud-puddle,  bathing  inflamed  eyes,  washing  bloody 
noses,  and  otherwise  repairing  damages  ;  not,  how- 
ever, in  the  sweet  spirit  of  an  agreed  truce,  but  in 
the  clamorous  spirit  of  defiance.  But  no  one  seemed 
prepared  to  renew  the  battle.  And  indeed  there 
was  little  incentive  to  that,  on  the  part  of  the  conspi- 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  149 

rators,  for  the  judges  were  off  at  a  safe  distance.  A 
few  hours  after,  when  the  moon  had  risen,  the  two 
officers  —  for  such  the  mysterious  personages  who 
had  so  slyly  appeared  and  seated  themselves  near  the 
door  of  the  court  room,  proved  to  be  —  who  had 
attempted  the  arrest,  were  seen  rapidly  posting  off, 
on  the  Roxbury  road,  with  their  heads  bound  up, 
and  muttering  denunciations  upon  the  disloyal  Court 
which  had  conspired  to  defeat  the  course  of  justice. 

After  that,  the  hunted  regicides  no  more  ventured 
to  appear  in  public.  And  the  members  of  the  Court, 
both  in  their  public  acts  and  private  discussions,  felt 
the  propriety  of  being  a  little  more  cautious  in  their 
expressions  of  disloyalty.  They  indeed  oscillated  to 
the  opposite  extreme,  and  in  their  adulations  of  roy- 
alty would  have  made  themselves  quite  ridiculous, 
had  it  not  been  evident  that  they  well  understood 
the  force  and  value  of  blarney. 

The  following  address  of  the  General  Court  to 
Charles  II.,  adopted  on  the  seventh  of  August,  1661, 
will  be  found  amusing,  even  after  making  all  due 
allowance  for  the  abject  style  of  the  times  : 

"Illustrious  Sr :  —  That  majestic  &  benignity  both 
sate  vpon  the  throne  whervnto  your  out  casts  made 
theire  former  addresse,  witnes  this  second  eucharist- 
icall  approach  vnto  the  best  of  kings,  who,  to  other 
titles  of  royaltje  comon  to  him  wth  other  gods  amongst 
men,  delighted  therein  more  peculiarly  to  conforme 
himself  to  the  God  of  gods,  and  that  he  hath  not 
despised  nor  abhorred  the  affliction  of  the  aflicted, 
neither  hath  he  hid  his  face  from  him,  but  when  he 
cryed  he  heard. 


II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 


"  Our  petition  was  ye  representation  of  an  exiles 
necessitjes.  The  script  gratulatorje  &  lowly,  is  the 
reflection  of  the  gracious  rayes  of  Christian  majestje. 
There  wee  besought  your  favour,  by  presenting  to  a 
compassionate  eye  that  bottle  full  of  teares  shed  by 
vs  in  this  Jeshimon.  Here  we  also  acknowledge  the 
efficacy  of  regale  influence  to  qualify  these  salt  wa- 
ters. The  mission  of  ours  was  accompanyed  wth  these 
churches  sitting  in  sackcloth  ;  the  reception  of  yours 
was  the  holding  forth  the  scepter  of  life. 

"  We  are  deepely  sensible  of  your  majesties  intima- 
tion relating  to  instruments  -of  Satan,  acted  by  impulse. 
Diabollicall  Venner  (not  to  say  whence  he  came  to 
us)  went  out  from  vs,  because  he  was  not  of  vs.  God 
preserve  your  majestic  from  all  emissaries  agitated 
by  an  infernall  spirit,  vnder  what  appellations  soeuer 
disguised.  Luther  sometimes  wrote  to  ye  senate  of 
Mulhoysen  to  beware  of  the  woolfe  Muncer. 

"  Roy  all  Sr  :  Your  just  title  to  the  crowne  enthro- 
nizeth  you  in  our  conciences,  your  graciousnes  in  our 
affections,  that  inspireth  vnto  duty.  This  natural- 
izeth  vnto  loyalty  ;  thence  we  call  yow  lord,  hence  a 
savior.  Mephibosheth,  how  prejudicially  soeuer  mis- 
represented, yet  rejoyceth  that  the  king  is  come  in 
peace  to  his  oune  house.  Now,  the  Lord  hath  dealt 
well  wth  our  lord  the  king  ;  may  New  England,  under 
your  royall  protection,  be  permitted  still  to  sing  the 
Lords  song  in  this  strange  land.  It  shall  be  no  greife 
of  heart  for  the  blessing  of  a  people  ready  to  perish 
dayly  to  come  vpon  your  majestic,  the  blessing  of 
yor  poore  people,  who,  (not  here  to  alleadge  the  inno- 
cency  of  our  cause,  touching  which  let  vs  Hue  no 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  151 

longer  than  we  subject  ourselves  to  an  orderly  trjall 
thereof,)  though  in  the  particculars  of  subscription 
&  conformitje,  supposed  to  be  vnder  the  hallucinations 
of  weake  brethren,  yet  craue  leaue  wth  all  humillitje  to 
say,  whither  the  voluntary  quitting  of  our  natiue  and 
dearest  country  be  not  sufficjent  to  expiate  so  inno- 
cent a  mistake,  (if  a  mistake,)  let  God,  aingells,  your 
majestic,  &  all  good  men  judge.  Now  He  in  whose 
hands  the  tjmes  &  trialls  of  the  children  of  men  are, 
who  hath  made  your  majestic  remarkeablie  paralell  to 
ye  most  eminent  of  kings,  both  for  ye  space  &  kinde 
of  yor  troubles,  so  as  that  very  day  cannot  be  excepted 
wherein  they  droue  him  from  abiding  in  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  Lord,  saying,  '  Goe,  serve  other  gods,' 
make  yow  also  (w**  is  the  croune  of  all)  more  &  more 
like  vnto  him  in  being  a  man  after  Gods  oune  heart, 
to  doe  whatsoeuer  he  will ;  yea,  as  the  Lord  was 
wth  Dauid,  so  let  him  be  wth  your  most  excellent 
majesty,  &  make  the  throne  of  King  Charles  the 
Second  both  greater  &  better  then  the  throne  of 
King  Dauid,  or  then  the  throne  of  any  of  yor  royal 
progenitors.  So  shall  alwayes  pray,  great  Sr, 
"  Yor  majests  most  humble  &  loyall  subjects. 

Jo :  ENDECOTT,  Gouernor." 

Think  of  such  fulsome  incense  as  that  ascending 
from  a  body  of  grave  and  pious  New  England  free- 
men —  yea,  from  the  Great  and  General  Court  itself — 
and  signed  by  such  a  name  as  John  Endicott  —  to 
a  throne  on  which  sits  such  a  "god"  as  Charles  II. 
I  think  they  did  understand  the  use  of  blarney.  On 
the  whole,  however,  Charles  was  rather  graciously 
inclined  toward  the  colonists,  and  seemed  disposed 


152  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

to  give  them  a  fair  chance  for*  advancement,  though 
he  entertained  none  of  the  Cromwellian  notions  of 
independence,  and  was  easily  swayed  by  the  shrewd 
rogues  and  political  vagabonds  about  him,  who  gained 
much  of  their  influence  through  unblushing  pander- 
age.  And  then  it  should  be  remembered  that  that 
was  a  strongly  marked  reactionary  period  in  the 
political  history  of  England.  The  Court  seemed  to 
delight  in  comparing  king  Charles  with  king  David  ; 
but  there  was  one  thing  to  which  Charles  probably 
never  gave  much  attention  ;  and  that  was  the  compo- 
sition of  psalms. 

The  King  was  so  well  inclined  that  on  one  occasion, 
in  an  interview  with  Sir  Thomas  Temple,  he  applied 
to  the  colonists  the  playful  epithet  of  "  honest  dogs," 
which  mightily  pleased,  in  a  way  that  those  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  famous  pine-tree 
coinage  will  remember.  And  the  colonists  had  a 
lively  sense  of  his  benignity  and  a  ready  mind  to 
acknowledge  it.  On  the  tenth  of  October,  1677,  the 
General  Court  ordered  that  "  The  Treasurer  doe  forth- 
with provide  tenn  barrells  of  cranburyes,  two  hogs- 
heads of  speciall  good  sampe,  and  three  thousand 
cod  ffish,"  to  be  sent  to  him  "  as  a  present  from  this 
Court."  Mr.  Grout  opposed  the  order  with  consider- 
able vehemence,  his  dexter  foot  swinging  back  and 
forth,  during  his  speech,  with  such  violence  as  to 
strike  the  back  of  a  testy  member  sitting  before  him. 
That  member  happening  to  be  on  the  royalist  side, 
and  pulling  all  the  wires  he  could  grasp,  to  lift  him- 
self into  a  certain  crown  office,  took  the  kick  in  the 
light  of  a  knock-down  argument,  and  turned  furiously 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  153 

on  his  assailant.  But  he  was  restrained  by  other 
members,  and  an  explanation  being  made,  the  affair 
passed  off  without  serious  damage. 

When  Mr.  Grout  found  that  the  order  would  pass 
in  spite  of  his  opposition,  he  moved  that  a  bag  of  dried 
hyssop  be  added.  The  members  stared,  not  know- 
ing what  on  earth  he  meant.  But  in  the  perplexing 
silence  that  followed,  he  vouchsafed  no  explanation 
beyond  quoting,  in  an  undertone,  the  passage  of  scrip- 
ture, "  purge  me  with  hyssop  and  I  shall  be  clean." 
The  cranberries,  samp  and  cod-fish  went,  without  the 
hyssop.  And  the  king,  who  could  not  help  entertain- 
ing suspicions  of  any  thing  that  reached  him  from 
such  a  source,  probably  made  his  courtiers  first  par- 
take of  the  delicacies  before  venturing  upon  them 
himself.  And  whether  they  were  finally  peaceful  and 
happy  within  the  luxurious  walls  of  the  royal  stomach, 
or  discontented  and  inclined  to  raise  commotion  there, 
does  not  appear.  The  stomach  of  a  sovereign  is  in 
some  sense  the  stomach  of  the  state,  and  it  is  impor- 
tant to  the  subject  that  what  goes  into  it  should  not 
be  of  a  quality  to  stir  up  the  bile. 

Mr.  Grout  never  could  become  reconciled  to  the 
Restoration,  and  in  the  General  Court,  too  often  for 
his  own  good,  lifted  up  his  jealous  voice  in  denuncia- 
tion of  the  management  of  things  over  the  water. 
Several  of  the  high-handed  measures  were  proposed 
by  him,  which  were  deemed  excessively  disloyal,  and 
which,  in  1682,  enabled  the  enemies  of  the  colonial 
charters  to  trump  up  enough  to  authorize  Edward 
Randolph,  the  public  prosecutor,  to  prepare  charges 
of  high  misdemeanor  against  the  Massachusetts  gov- 
G* 


154  n-       SHINING   LIGHTS. 

ernment,  and  cause  that  examination  to  be  made,  and 
those  proceedings  to  be  instituted,  which  resulted  in 
the  annulling  of  the  Charter  itself,  and  the  appointment 
of  Sir  Edmund  Andros  to  the  governorship. 

Randolph  came  over  as  secretary  and  right-hand 
man  to  Andros,  and  managed  to  get  his  superior 
deeper  in  the  political  mire  than  his  own  weight 
would  probably  have  carried  him,  besides  making 
himself  highly  obnoxious  by  his  overbearing  disposi- 
tion and  generally  unhandsome  conduct.  He  was 
covetous,  conceited,  and  ambitious.  And  being  a 
high  churchman  and  high  prerogative  man,  he  could 
sympathise  neither  with  the  prevailing  theology  nor 
the  political  views  of  the  colonists.  He  was,  without 
doubt,  a  man  of  education,  of  cultivated  mind,  and 
refined  taste.  But  for  all  that  there  is  no  wonder 
that  he  was  spurned  by  most  of  those  whose  society 
he  cculd  have  enjoyed ;  and  that  here  he  had  to 
lament  the  loss  of  the  social  delights  by  which  he 
was  surrounded  in  England  —  no  wonder,  that  as  he 
was  much  abroad  and  necessarily  encountered  many 
of  the  ruder  sort,  he  found  it  expedient  to  keep  on 
hand  a  good  supply  of  plasters  and  bandages,  and 
was  sometimes  seen  with  torn  ruffles  and  abraded 
knuckles  —  no  wonder  that  when  Andros  went  down 
he  went  with  him. 

The  General  Court  was  the  aegis  of  liberty  here,  in 
those  troublous  times,  and  Mr.  Grout  a  vigilant  sen- 
tinel. He  was  among  the  most  rampant  who  on  that 
memorable  day  of  uprising  hurled  the  obnoxious  ruler 
from  his  cushioned  seat  of  power,  and  landed  him 
safely  in  the  prison  on  Fort  Hill,  where  he  and  his 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  155 

coadjutant  secretary  supped  sorrowfully  together,  that 
night,  on  such  frugal  fare  as  they  had  not  been  accus- 
tomed to.  Poor  Fort  Hill !  And  you,  too,  have 
disappeared ;  shovel,  pick,  and  steam-scraper  have 
accomplished  their  devastating  work.  O,  that  senti- 
ment, or  stirring  memories,  or  something  more  potent, 
had  power,  in  such  a  case  to  restrain  the  destroy- 
ing hand  of  Improvement.  Fort  Hill  was  one  of 
the  great  landmarks  of  ancient  Shawmut,  and  one 
of  the  three  elevations  that  gave  the  name  of  Tri- 
mountain  to  what  is  now  the  proud  city  of  Boston. 
It  was  a  beautiful  hill ;  and  while  its  acclivities 
remained  clothed  in  their  primitive  forest  vesture,  was 
a  favorite  resort,  at  evening,  of  such  as  sought  retire- 
ment —  of  owls,  tree-toads,  whip-poor-wills,  and  foxes. 
And  not  unfrequently  the  sighing  lover  sought  the 
congenial  privacy.  The  view  was  extensive,  over  the 
adjacent  country,  the  lovely  islands,  and  the  broad 
blue  bay.  And  the  never  ceasing  murmur  of  the 
ocean  furnished  fitting  music. 

But  there,  at  the  grim  portal  of  the  Fort  Hill  prison, 
we  must  bid  adieu  to  Andros,  and  Randolph  his 
fellow-oppressor,  wishing  them  a  happy  issue  out  of 
their  troubles ;  and  wishing,  too,  that  they  may  be 
led  to  repent  and  be  of  better  minds. 

We  must  also  now  bid  adieu  to  Mr.  Grout  himsel£ 
And  this  we  shall  do  at  his  own  happy  home.  There 
stands  his  house,  half  shaded  by  those  old  forest  trees 
that  skirt  the  highway.  It  is  one  of  the  best  in  the 
place,  and  supplied  with  all  the  appliances  for  comfort 
and  convenience  known  to  the  time.  There  is,  to  be 
sure,  no  furnace  for  heating,  nor  any  gas  for  lighting ; 


156  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

no,  nor  cooking  range  ;  nor  are  there  any  plumber's 
water  pipes.  But  then  there  is  an  enormous  fire-place, 
hung  with  great  sooty  trammels,  from  which  depend 
huge  pots  and  kettles,  and  by  the  side  an  oven,  capa- 
cious enough  to  receive  half  a  score  of  golden  pump- 
kins and  as  many  sweet  barley  loaves.  The  well  at 
the  back  door,  with  its  great  sweep  and  iron-bound 
bucket,  furnishes  an  abundance  of  pure  water  for  the 
inmates  of  the  house  and  the  humbler  ones  of  the 
barn.  The  panting  dog  leaps  up  to  the  overflowing 
trough,  and  the  motherly  hen  leads  her  peeping  brood 
to  the  rill  that  winds  down  the  bank.  In  the  yard  is 
a  noble  pile  of  seasoned  wood,  and  in  the  shed  a  store 
of  dry  peat.  The  cellar  is  supplied  with  vegetables, 
bear  meat,  and  pork,  with  salted  venison  and  wild 
fowl.  And  the  salted  cod-fish  —  where  are  they  ?  for 
the  present  they  are  drying  in  the  garret,  where  they 
will  probably  become  impregnated  by  the  wholesome 
odors  of  the  herbs  that  are  drying  near  them.  And 
conspicuous  on  the  skids  in  the  cool  arch,  are  the 
cider  barrel  and  the  barrel  of  home-brewed  beer. 
Good  brindle  yields  an  abundance  of  milk,  far  richer 
than  that  afforded  by  any  of  the  hydraulic  contrivan- 
ces of  the  present  day.  The  rude  apiary,  in  the 
shadow  of  that  hale  old  oak,  affords  abundance  of 
honey,  sweeter  and  more  wholesome  than  the  inge- 
nious chemists  of  our  time  are  able  to  manufacture 
from  the  best  northern  lard  and  refined  sugar.  Some 
of  the  vile  concocters  ought  indeed  to  hide  their  heads 
in  very  shame  when  they  look  into  the  honest  faces 
of  the  worthy  bees  as  they  toil  on,  uncomplainingly, 
in  the  hope  of  still  keeping  honey  in  unstained  credit. 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  157 

And  do  those  depraved  counterfeiters  feel  no  stings 
of  conscience  ?  If  they  do  not,  they  should  be  made 
at  least  to  feel  the  stings  of  the  mortified  bees  they  so 
grossly  outrage.  It  has  been  very  pleasant,  for  ages, 
for  men  to  read  of  the  happy  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey ;  but  if  it  should  ever  be  made  to  appear 
that  the  milk  and  honey  there  are  no  better  than 
the  articles  so  named  that  flow  over  this  land,  the 
value  of  the  imagery  is  lost.  The  acknowledged 
necessity  for  the  appointment  of  milk-inspectors  even 
now  damages  the  flavor.  But  we  must  leave  brindle 
and  the  bees,  and  glance  at  the  gobbling  and  cackling 
host  that  so  contentedly  forage  about  the  premises 
of  Mr.  Grout.  They  yield  their  increase  and  finally 
their  own  bodies  to  enrich  the  hospitable  board.  The 
woods,  too,  send  their  offerings  of  tender  game,  and 
the  ponds  their  savory  fish. 

Were  not  those  comfortable  times  —  halcyon  days, 
as  the  poets  say  ?  The  men  had  no  notes  maturing 
in  the  banks.  There  were  no  banks  ;  and  conse- 
quently none  of  those  sin-inciting  little  missives  fly- 
ing about,  every  where,  and  with  shocking  curtness 
saying  to  every  body,  "  Your  note  for  so  much  be- 
comes due  so  and  so,  the  last  of  grace,  and  you"  [must 
pony  up.]  The  last  of  grace,  forsooth  !  If  corpora- 
tions had  souls,  the  banks  would  probably  find  that 
there  was  a  last  day  of  grace  for  them,  in  view  of  the 
sin  they  lead  others  to  commit.  But  proverbially 
such  institutions  have  no  souls.  The  men,  in  those 
comfortable  times,  as  we  said,  had  no  notes  maturing 
in  the  banks.  Nor  had  the  women  new  fashions  to 
harass  themselves  about  —  another  mark  of  h'alcyon 


158  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

times.  And  why  should  not  sweet  contentment  have 
prevailed  ?  But,  after  all,  the  within  is  not  deter- 
mined by  the  without.  And  men  were  revengeful, 
envious,  lustful,  as  well  then  as  now.  The  young 
loved  as  ardently  and  as  indiscreetly,  and  as  often 
found  themselves  floundering  in  the  stream  that  never 
does  run  smooth  —  perhaps  pursued  by  the  old  green- 
eyed  monster  —  then  as  now.  And  then,  too,  the 
old  were  as  captious,  fretful,  and  supercilious.  And 
so  we  go -on,  generation  after  generation,  ever  receiv- 
ing lessons  but  never  learning  —  never  learning  that 
real  happiness  is  in  but  a  small  degree  dependent  on 
mere  outward  condition. 

We  have  had  a  glimpse  of  the  home  of  Mr.  Grout. 
But  where  is  he,  good  man,  as  we  seek  him  to  bid 
adieu  ?  Ah,  there  he  is,  in  that  front  chamber  that 
looks  over  the  green  hills  toward  the  setting  sun  — 
a  chamber  neat  as  the  most  loving  hand  can  make  it, 
though  with  rough,  bare  walls  and  unpainted  wain- 
scoting. A  couple  of  plaster  portraits  look  gravely 
down  from  their  place  above  the  mantle-piece,  the 
one  representing  the  venerable  man  himself,  in  a 
sky  blue  doublet,  glossy  red  coat,  and  yellow  small 
clothes,  illustrating  rather  the  taste  of  the  colonial 
artist  than  the  real  presence  ;  and  the  other,  a  portrait 
of  the  good  wife,  alike  radiant  in  unnatural  plumage. 
A  mat  of  braided  woolen,  of  divers  colors,  lies  before 
the  fire,  and  another  beside  the  bed  ;  and  here  and 
there  about  the  unpainted  floor  lie  others,  less  preten- 
tious, of  sweet-smelling  corn-husks. 

It  is  a  pleasant  day,  and  the  shades  of  evening  are 
just  g'athering.  The  fire  has  burned  down  to  a  few 


HACHALIAH    GROUT.  159 

smouldering  embers,  and  a  watchful  dame  sits  silently 
within  their  drowsy  influence.  But  she  is  very  watch- 
ful and  constantly  casts  anxious  glances  toward  the 
bed,  on  which  lies  extended  the  manly  form  of  Mr. 
Grout,  now  wasted  by  disease,  and  just  animated  by 
the  flickering  light  which  is  about  to  go  out  forever. 
The  little  table  of  medicine  cups,  and  bottles,  and 
pill-boxes,  is  now  removed  from  near  the  head  of  the 
bed  to  a  distant  corner,  as  being  no  longer  required, 
the  last  hope  of  recovery  having  expired ;  and  the 
basket  of  herbs,  too,  has  disappeared  from  its  wonted 
place.  The  family  are  below,  in  silence  partaking 
of  their  evening  meal,  apprehensive,  every  moment, 
of  a  summons  to  witness  the  last  scene.  The  village 
doctor  slips  in,  and  in  whispers  makes  inquiries  of  the 
nurse.  She  shakes  her  head,  and  makes  some  reply 
that  induces  him  to  turn  sadly  toward  the  bed.  He 
leans  over  the  patient,  his  long  gray  cue,  wound  with 
glossy  eel-skin  sticking  picturesquely  up,  as  if  mark- 
ing some  rich  spot  in  his  cranium.  He  hears  a  low 
gurgling  sound,  and  quickly  bids  the  nurse  call  up  the 
family.  Silently  and  sadly  they  file  in.  The  dying 
man  now  motions  them  to  raise  his  head,  and  looks 
toward  the  window.  They  understand  him,  though 
he  cannot  speak.  And  as  they  draw  aside  the  curtain 
of  green  cloth,  the  golden  light  of  the  setting  sun 
streams  in  and  falls  upon  the  covering  of  his  bed. 
His  withered  hand  steals  along  with  almost  imper- 
ceptible motion  till  it  reaches  the  genial  warmth. 
And  then  the  beautiful  light  creeps  upward  and 
upward  upon  him,  and  reaches  his  placid  brow. 
There  it  flickers  and  flickers,  but  like  all  other  things 


I6O  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

pertaining  to  earth,  hastens  on.  Upward  and  upward 
it  moves  gliding  away  from  human  sight,  and  with  it 
departs  the  spirit  of  our  worthy  friend. 

And  so  the  beautiful  light  went  out  —  like  the  serene 
radiance  of  Olivet  rather  than  the  fiery  flash  of  Sinai. 


LEVI  HUBBARD. 

MR.  HUBBARD  was  long  known  as  the  smashing 
member ;  and  he  came  by  the  euphonious  name  in  a 
very  natural  way,  as  will  appear  as  we  proceed.  He 
was  from  one  of  the  settlements  comprehended  in  the 
limits  of  old  New-Town.  And  he  certainly  made  his 
mark  in  the  House  on  more  than  one  occasion.  Pos- 
sessing great  taciturnity  of  habit,  and  gravity  of 
countenance,  with  a  whimsical  expression  of  candor, 
he  managed  to  pass  himself  off  for  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability.  Yet  we  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  he  was  insincere  in  his  pretensions  ;  for  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  conceit  in  the  world.  Though  he 
passed  for  more  than  he  was  worth,  he  still  was  worth 
a  good  deal.  He  did  not,  however,  make  his  mark  in 
the  House  so  much  by  talking  as  doing  ;  nor  did  his 
arguments  address  themselves  so  much  to  the  interior 
as  to  the  exterior  of  the  heads  of  his  fellow-members. 
To  explain :  He  had  the  extraordinary  habit,  when 
a  great  thing  presented  itself  to  his  mind  —  like,  for 
instance,  a  conclusive  fact  or  unanswerable  argu- 


LEVI   HUBBARD.  l6l 

ment  —  to  give  a  sudden  intimation  thereof,  by  hurl- 
ing any  missive  that  might  be  at  hand,  against  the 
opposite  side  of  the  room,  or  at  some  body's  head,  as 
the  case  might  be.  There  was  usually  a  premonition 
of  these  manifestations,  that  to  those  acquainted  with 
him  relieved  them  of  some  of  their  terror  and  danger ; 
and  that  was,  a  violent  clap  of  the  hands.  That  clap 
soon  came  to  elicit  more  sudden  and  lively  attention 
than  any  other  movement  in  the  House.  It  was 
what  every  one  seemed  to  think  he  had  a  personal 
interest  in.  And  it  will  at  once  occur  to  the  reader 
that  this  was  the  same  Mr.  Hubbard  alluded  to  on 
page  105,  where  an  account  is  given  of  a  character- 
istic exploit  of  his  on  a  field  day  of  the  Ancient  and 
Honorable  Artillery. 

The  first  time  Mr.  Hubbard  called  attention  to 
himself  in  this  singular  way,  was  during  a  debate  on 
an  order  requiring  monuments  to  be  erected  to  desig- 
nate the  location  of  wolf-pits,  for  a  great  many  acci- 
dents had  occurred  by  persons  falling  into  the  traps. 
The  speaker  himself  had  once  had  the  misfortune  to 
fall  into  one,  where  he  was  found  the  next  morning 
crouched  up  in  one  corner,  almost  dead  with  fright., 
while  in  another  corner  was  crouched  a  she  wolf,  also 
nearly  dead  with  fright.  It  was  a  warm  day  when  the 
debate  took  place,  and  Mr.  Hubbard  had  with  his 
accustomed  impassiveness  been  listening  to  a  loose 
discussion  which  one  of  the  leading  members  was 
then  endeavoring  to  draw  to  the  real  points  in  ques- 
tion. All  of  a  sudden  our  hero  arose  and  gave  the 
premonitory  clap.  Those  near  began  to  stare,  fear- 
ing that  he  had  all  at  once  become  distracted.  But 

ii 


1 62  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

before  they  had  time  to  make  up  their  minds  what  to 
do,  he  had  seized  the  jug  which  contained  the  beer 
he  had  brought  for  his  noon  refreshment,  and  which 
sat  beneath  the  bench,  and  hurled  it  with  tremendous 
force  against  the  opposite  wall.  It  passed  directly 
over  the  head  of  the  member  then  speaking,  and 
would,  perhaps,  have  taken  that  appendage  with  it  in 
its  flight,  had  he  not  at  that  moment  bowed  down  in 
compliment  to  a  sneeze. 

The  jug  struck  directly  over  the  rickety  chair  of 
the  presiding  officer,  was  smashed  to  pieces,  and  the 
foaming  liquid  drenched  the  bald  head  of  the  dignitary 
and  ran  down  his  beard.  The  author  of  the  mischief 
was  instantly  seized  by  more  hands  than  he  could 
accommodate,  and  after  struggling  manfully  was  over- 
come, no  one  now  doubting  that  he  was  deranged 
and  bent  on  serious  mischief.  Luckily,  however,  a 
constituent  of  his,  and  one  well  known  in  the  House, 
happened  just  then  to  come  in,  and  was  able  to 
inform  them  of  the  evil  habit,  and  to  give  assurance 
of  Mr.  Hubbard's  perfect  freedom  from  all  malicious 
intent.  And  he  further  assured  them  that  if  they 
would  now  give  him  the  opportunity  he  would  proba- 
bly so  treat  the  subject  under  debate,  as  to  convince 
them  that  he  was  any  thing  but  a  lunatic.  This 
seemed  fair,  and  he  was  allowed  to  speak.  But  his 
luminous  idea,  after  all,  proved  rather  a  flash  in  the 
pan.  It  had  simply  struck  him  that  the  monuments 
would  not  only  show  people  where  the  wolf-pits  were 
but  likewise  give  the  same  information  to  the  wolves 
themselves  ;  thus  defeating  the  whole  purpose.  What 
influence  his  argument  had  on  the  main  question,  we 


LEVI    HUBBARD.  163 

do  not  know ;  but  his  conduct  was  not  at  all  relished. 
The  speaker  was  much  alarmed,  and  loudly  declared 
his  decided  unwillingness  to  have  his  attention,  in 
the  future,  called  in  so  unparliamentary  a  manner, 
and  demanded  that  something  should  be  done  to 
prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  an  outrage.  The 
member  who  had  so  narrowly  escaped  decapitation 
by  the  providential  intervention  of  a  sneeze,  hastily 
drew  up  an  order  that  Mr.  Hubbard  should  be  com- 
pelled to  wear  shackles  on  his  wrists  while  in  the 
House.  But  this  was  smothered  by  proposed  amend- 
ments ;  one  of  which  was  that  the  mover  himself 
should  wear  a  shackle  on  his  tongue  ;  for  he  had 
become  obnoxious  to  many  by  the  airs  he  had  given 
his  own  unruly  member.  The  matter  finally  ended 
in  a  vote  of  censure  and  admonition. 

It  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  a  man  possessing 
such  an  infirmity  as  that  of  Mr.  Hubbard,  could  pass 
through  life  unmarked.  He  was  constantly  provoking 
retaliations  from  those  who  could  neither  appreciate 
nor  excuse  such  conduct.  And  when  he  went  down 
to  his  grave  he  was  scarred  in  every  part  of  his  body  ; 
his  nose  stood  awry,  he  had  but  one  ear,  his  lower 
jaw  was  so  broken  that  it  worked  like  a  worn-out 
steel-trap,  and  he  was  very  lame  of  his  left  leg.  In- 
deed he  used  to  make  a  sort  of  sorry  boast  that  every 
bone  in  his  body  excepting  four  had  been  broken. 
No  experience  was  competent  to  cure  him  of  his 
unfortunate  propensity.  It  seems  as  if  it  could  not 
properly  be  called  a  habit,  being  rather  a  part  of  his 
very  nature,  bound  to  manifest  itself  whenever  its 
turn  came  ;  like  mischief  in  a  monkey. 


164  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

He  was  once  in  the  barn-yard  of  a  neighbor,  exam- 
ining some  cattle,  when  a  hard-shell  pumpkin  suddenly 
flew  from  his  hand,  with  great  force,  and  struck  a 
surly  old  bull  who  stood  meditating  by  the  wall, 
square  on  the  muzzle.  The  animal  received  the 
indignity  with  an  appalling  roar,  and  dashing  forward 
to  avenge  himself,  soon  broke  the  thread  of  his  assail- 
ant's reflections  by  seizing  him  on  his  horns,  and  before 
those  lively  nursery  distichs  could  be  repeated  down 
to  "the  crumpled  horn,"  had  tossed  him  over  the 
wall  upon  a  bed  of  rocks,  where  he  had  two  ribs 
broken.  It  was  fortunate  that  he  went  over  the  wall, 
as  otherwise  it  would  have  been  no  fault  of  taurus 
had  he  not  been  gored  to  death. 

Stocks  had  been  erected  near  the  House,  for  the 
discipline  of  petty  offenders  and  for  the  occasional 
safe-keeping  of  greater  rogues  till  such  time  as  they 
could  be  brought  to  justice.  They  were  the  lock-ups 
of  the  time.  And  a  member  of  the  Court  itself  occa- 
sionally found  himself  seated  in  them,  exposed  to  the 
indignities  of  strolling  vagrants,  two-footed  and  four- 
footed,  as  well  as  the  piercing  attentions  of  mosquitos 
and  other  blood-loving  insect  adventurers.  There 
was  no  respect  of  persons,  in  those  days,  as  before 
remarked,  for  even  one  of  the  Assistants  was  com- 
pelled, on  a  certain  occasion,  to  stand  at  the  door 
of  the  House,  for  two  hours,  in  a  broiling  sun,  with 
his  tongue  in  a  cleft  stick,  for  some  offensive  words 
he  had  uttered  in  debate ;  an  example  that  might 
occasionally  be  imitated  in  these  days,  with  profit. 

Now  these  stocks  were  not  a  pleasing  object  for 
some  of  the  more  fastidious  members  to  contemplate, 


LEVI   HUBBARD.  165 

and  an  effort  was  made  to  have  them  removed.  I  am 
unable  to  state,  for  a  reason  that  will  presently  appear, 
whether  Mr.  Hubbard  was  in  favor  of  their  removal, 
or  not.  He  listened  to  the  arguments,  pro  and  con, 
with  his  usual  gravity.  But  at  last  a  resounding  clap 
came,  and  away  flew  an  inkhorn,  scattering  its  con- 
tents all  the  way  to  the  clerk's  table,  and  there 
bespattering  the  records  in  a  manner  grievous  to 
behold.  This,  by  the  way,  is  how  the  records  of  that 
particular  time  became  so  blotted  and  marred,  to  the 
disgust  of  those  who  have  of  late  been  endeavoring  to 
literally  transcribe  them. 

Mr.  Hubbard,  for  his  conduct  on  this  occasion,  was 
summarily  dealt  with.  On  view,  as  the  lawyers  say, 
and  without  waiting  to  hear  a  word  from  him,  he  was 
ordered  to  take  a  seat  in  the  very  stocks  in  question, 
there  to  remain  for  the  rest  of  the  day,  which,  being 
a  decidedly  chilly  one  in  November,  made  the  seat 
any  thing  but  agreeable. 

While  sitting  there,  meditating  as  composedly  as  he 
might,  on  life's  mutations,  there  came  along  a  great 
motherly  swine,  followed  by  half  a  dozen  squealing 
progeny.  And  perhaps  she  was  the  very  one  that 
by  her  strolling  propensity  was  the  cause  of  the 
serious  commotion  in  church  and  state  detailed  in  our 
sketch  of  Robert  Keayne.  They  rooted  about  the 
disciplinary  institution,  regaling  the  occupant  by  their 
musical  grunts  and  piggish  antics,  till  they  seemed 
to  conclude  that  nothing  more  was  to  be  gained,  and 
then  drew  off,  the  matron  first  casting  upon  him  one 
of  those  comical,  leering  looks,  which  no  animal  on 
earth  but  a  fat  pig  can  bestow  —  excepting,  perhaps, 


1 66  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

a  drunken  man.  And  away  she  went,  with  her  sons 
and  her  daughters,  to  feast  upon  the  sweet  acorns 
that  lay  in  profusion  under  the  oaks,  in  the  hollow 
below. 

A  small  dog  now  bounded  over  the  wall,  and 
after  amusing  himself  by  chasing  the  little  pigs  for 
a  while,  and  hastening  their  retreat  to  the  oaks,  ran 
up  and  smelled  of  our  taciturn  friend  who  had  so 
summarily  become  a  real  estate  fixture,  and  then, 
after  gently  saluting  his  feet,  trotted  along. 

Next,  a  great  red  cockerel  led  up  a  bevy  of  hens, 
and  leaving  them  to  pick  up  what  worms  and  bugs 
might  be  straying  round,  mounted  to  the  very  top 
of  the  stocks,  and  after  sounding  his  shrill  clarion  to 
his  own  manifest  satisfaction,  looked  down  upon  the 
victim  seated  below,  whirring  out  something  that  might 
have  been  an  expression  of  pity  or  derision.  And 
the  poor  man  looked  up,  with  that  weak,  helpless, 
entreating  gaze  that  none  but  the  most  unfeeling 
could  ever  spurn.  And  there  was  no  more  crowing. 

Then  a  long-haired,  dirty-mouthed  lad  appeared, 
leading  his  long-haired,  dirty-mouthed  sister,  and 
they  both  stopped  and  pointed  at  him  and  hissed,  as 
they  had  seen  others  do  to  their  father  who  was  in 
the  same  predicament  a  few  days  before.  And  the 
hissing  did  not  end  with  them  ;  for  a  squad  of  geese 
waddled  up,  and  seeming  to  consider  it  their  duty  to 
give  some  expression  of  disgust,  stretched  out  their 
ungainly  necks,  and  bestowed  their  uncivil  utterances 
with  a  will,  and  then  passed  on. 

A  drunken  fellow,  who  was  digging  artichokes  in 
an  adjoining  field,  and  who  had  once  been  worsted  in 


LEVI   HUBBARD.  1 67 

some  sort  of  an  encounter  with  Mr.  Hubbard,  now 
looked  over,  and  after  indulging  in  divers  unhandsome 
taunts,  threw  at  him  some  fetid  toad-stools  which  he 
had  picked  up  under  a  tree  ;  and  at  about  the  same 
time  a  dead  snake,  thrown  from  the  other  side,  fell  on 
his  unprotected  head. 

Presently  our  radiant  young  friend  Sunny  Wave 
bounded  up  with  her  basket,  and  his  spirits  revived, 
for  her  presence  always  came  as  a  beam  of  light,  to 
old  and  young.  She  at  once  comprehended  the  state 
of  affairs,  and  tears  began  to  trickle  down  her  dusky 
face.  Setting  down  her  basket,  she  tried  with  all  her 
might  to  tear  away  the  fastenings.  With  a  listless 
smile  he  signified  his  appreciation  of  her  efforts, 
though  he  realized  her  entire  incapacity  to  do  any 
thing  effectual  against  the  gripe  of  those  great  beams. 
Then  suddenly  relinquishing  her  hopeless  task,  she 
ran  off  toward  the  shore,  and  in  a  short  time  returned 
with  her  stalwart  father,  who  immediately  understood 
what  service  was  required  of  him. 

When  Arrow  John  perceived  who  the  victim  was, 
he  knit  his  brow,  and  striding  up,  exclaimed,  "  Ho,  ki ! 
Dam  !  Master  Hubber  in  stocks  !  Me  glad !  Swear ! 
Can't  smash  now !  More  swear ! "  He  then  began 
gravely  to  manipulate  the  defenceless  head,  as  if 
making  a  phrenological  examination,  which  he  proba- 
bly had  no  thought  of  doing,  the  effulgent  light  of 
that  science  not  having  then  beamed  upon  the  world. 
But  what  was  he  doing?  Mr.  Hubbard  knew  him, 
and  remembered  that  he  had  once,  under  the  opera- 
tion of  an  ideal  ecstasy,  hurled  a  horse-shoe  at  his 
head.  So  he  had  fears  that  an  anatomical  operation 


1 68  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

was  contemplated.  In  short,  he  imagined  that  he 
was  to  be  scalped  outright.  And  his  apprehensions 
were  not  relieved,  as  he  looked  imploringly  up  with 
his  great  dull  eyes,  and  heard  the  ejaculation,  "  Brave 
sculp !  brave  sculp !  White  man  hit  Indjan,  with 
horse-moccasin  ;  most  kill  him  !  More  swear !  Ind- 
jan have  chance  now ! "  And  his  hand  instinctively 
grasped  the  scalping-knife.  The  murderous  weapon 
gleamed  aloft.  And  now  the  victim  became  greatly 
alarmed,  as  it  would  prove  a  serious  damage  to  be 
deprived,  in  that  inglorious  way,  of  what  had  been  so 
useful  as  well  as  ornamental,  through  his  whole  life. 
In  very  agony  he  roared  out  so  as  to  be  heard  in  the 
House  ;  and  relief  no  doubt  would  have  come,  in  some 
shape,  had  not  such  outcries  become  too  frequent  to 
excite  much  attention. 

Sunny  Wave  now  sprang  forward  and  clung  to  her 
father's  arm  in  the  utmost  consternation.  But  it  is 
impossible  to  determine  what  turn  affairs  would  have 
taken,  had  not  at  that  juncture,  the  same  old  bull 
whose  acquaintance  Mr.  Hubbard  had  formed  in  his 
neighbor's  barn-yard,  and  who  had  never  yet  been 
able  to  fully  settle  up  for  the  indignity  there  offered, 
come  tearing  down  the  road.  The  animal's  attention 
was  at  once  attracted  by  the  stocks,  and  he  stopped 
short,  keenly  eyeing  the  occupant,  whom  he  seemed 
to  fully  recognize  as  an  enemy.  His  great  round 
eyes  began  to  blaze,  his  tail  to  lift,  and  his  head  to 
lower.  Then  he  gave  a  frightful  roar  and  prepared 
to  deliver  a  desperate  charge.  Between  the  scalping- 
knife  of  the  savage  and  the  horns  of  the  bull,  the 
poor  man  felt  that  there  was  little  to  hope  and  little 


LEVI    HUBBARD.  169 

to  choose,  and  made  up  his  mind  to  close  his  eyes 
and  bravely  meet  what  he  could  not  escape.  But  the 
bull  soon  presented  the  only  horn  of  the  dilemma ; 
for  the  savage,  in  great  trepidation,  darted  off,  giving 
the  angry  beast  the  first  opportunity  to  square  ac- 
counts. It  is  not,  after  all,  very  probable  that  Arrow 
John  really  intended  violence,  for  he  was  by  no  means 
of  a  vindictive  disposition.  His  purpose  no  doubt 
was  to  give  Mr.  Hubbard  such  a  fright  as  would 
restrain  him  in  his  demonstrations  with  "horse- 
moccasins,"  and  the  like. 

Without  any  ceremony  or  honorable  consideration 
for  the  helpless  condition  of  his  antagonist,  the  bull 
made  a  fearful  dash  at  the  erection,  carrying  away 
the  corner  post,  but  by  a  singular  misaim  not  even 
grazing  the  evident  object  of  his  wrath.  Though, 
perhaps,  Samson  like,  he  intended  to  destroy  the 
whole  fabric  and  crush  his  victim  in  the  ruins.  Whe- 
ther he  was  disgusted  at  the  little  accomplished  by 
his  onset,  or  began  to  suffer  from  a  head-ache,  is  not 
apparent.  But  off  he  started,  bellowing  and  shaking 
his  head,  much  to  the  relief  of  Mr.  Hubbard.  And 
then  the  unfortunate  man  was  left  to  his  own  medita- 
tions and  the  tender  mercies  of  a  cutting  sleet  for  the 
remainder  of  the  day. 

The  details  here  given  of  the  disasters  to  which 
Mr.  Hubbard  was  exposed  during  his  confinement  in 
the  stocks,  are  not  offered  as  mere  narrations.  And 
it  is  hoped  that  the  reader  will  appreciate  the  practical 
lesson  involved.  It  is  never  well  to  offer  gratuitous 
indignities  to  our  fellow  mortals,  for  there  are  so 
many  unforeseen  turns  in  life,  that  retributive  justice 
H 


I/O  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

may  come  in  a  very  unexpected  shape  and  at  a  very 
unexpected  time.  Even  the  weakest  and  apparently 
most  insignificant  may  at  some  period  have  presented 
an  opportunity  to  square  accounts  to  the  utmost. 
And  there  being  a  vast  deal  more  depravity  than 
magnanimity  in  the  world,  it  becomes  one  to  be  as 
careful  in  choosing  his  enemies  as  his  friends.  It  is 
not  wise  to  offend  even  a  goose  if  you  can  as  well  as 
not  avoid  it,  for  he  can  hiss  at  you  if  he  can  do  no 
greater  mischief.  More  especially  beware  of  the 
elephant. 

In  the  matter  of  dress,  Mr.  Hubbard  was  not  over- 
fastidious.  He  generally  wore  substantial  leather 
breeches,  which  bore  unmistakable  evidence  of  service 
in  the  pine  woods.  Indeed  they  became  so  besmeared 
with  pitch  that  it  was  dangerous  for  him  to  go  near  a 
fire.  On  one  occasion,  during  an  evening  session 
of  the  Court,  a  lighted  tallow-dip  happening  to  fall  on 
him,  they  were  instantly  in  a  blaze,  and  for  the  time 
being,  at  least,  he  was  the  most  shining  light  of  the 
House.  For  some  minutes  he  was  in  great  danger 
of  broiling ;  but  those  near  having  the  presence  of 
mind  to  roll  him  in  the  green  hide  of  a  bear,  which  a 
member  had  left  just  outside  of  the  door,  the  fire  was 
so  speedily  extinguished  that  no  great  damage  was 
done  to  his  person,  though  his  unfortunate  garment 
was  burned  to  a  crisp  in  several  places,  insomuch 
that  had  it  been  daylight  decency  would  hardly  have 
permitted  him  to  have  shown  himself  on  the  way 
home.  Coarse  gray  stockings  encased  his  well-shaped 
legs,  and  his  feet  were  protected  by  heavy  shoes, 
ornamented,  to  some  extent,  like  Indian  moccasins. 


LEVI    HUBBARD.  I? I 

A  short  blue  woolen  frock,  answered  the  purpose 
of  a  doublet,  and  enabled  him  to  dispense  with  a  coat, 
save  at  such  times  as  the  weather  required  an  outer 
garment.  His  hat  was  of  such  shape  and  dimensions 
as  would  have  excited  the  admiration  of  a  Mexican 
brigand,  and  under  its  canopy  he  could  bid  defiance 
to  sun  and  rain. 

It  was  very  much  after  this  manner  that  Mr.  Hub- 
bard  was  arrayed  one  beautiful  June  day  as  he  and 
the  Governor  were  pursuing  their  way  along  the  path 
that  led  through  the  bushes  and  scrub  oaks  in  the 
vicinity  of  what  is  now  Bowdoin  square.  They  were 
going  to  attend  the  Artillery  election,  and  were  not 
exactly  in  agreement  as  to  the  merits  of  the  candi- 
dates, as  appeared  by  the  earnestness  of  their  debate. 
The  contrast  in  the  appearance  of  the  two  was  rather 
striking,  as  the  Governor  was  decked  out  in  his  ruffles, 
embroidered  vest,  gold-laced  coat,  and  cocked  hat. 
But  yet  the  chief  dignitary  fully  recognized  the  equal- 
ity of  his  neighbor ;  just  that  sort  of  equality  which 
politicians  of  this  day  recognize  when  ruffles  come 
wheedling  round  homespun,  to  gain  some  selfish  end. 
And  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  cannot  deny 
that  even  our  highest  officials  are  often  subject  to 
such  weakness  and  dishonor. 

When  in  the  House,  Mr.  Hubbard  would  persist 
in  wearing,  as  his  hair  was  rather  thin,  an  odd  substi- 
tute for  his  hat,  that  being  a  proscribed  adornment 
of  members  during  session.  And  this  substitute  was 
a  stiff  cap,  of  conical  shape,  and  nearly  a  foot  in 
height.  It  looked  very  much  like  a  huge  gray  extin- 
guisher; but  was  perforated  along  the  upper  part, 


1/2  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

for  ventilation,  as  he  said.  This  cap  was  the  admi- 
ration of  all  the  Indians  who  ever  set  eyes  on  it. 
And  it  was  almost  impossible  to  prevent  its  being 
stolen  by  some  of  them.  Indeed  it  was  stolen  two  or 
three  times,  and  would  never  have  been  recovered 
had  not  Sunny  Wave,  for  the  credit  of  her  country- 
men, looked  it  up  and  restored  it. 

There  was  one  exercise  of  the  House  in  which  Mr. 
Hubbard  engaged  with  what  was  really  a  good  imi- 
tation of  enthusiasm  ;  to  wit,  the  musical.  A  psalm 
was  usually  sung  in  the  morning  and  another  just 
before  the  adjournment.  And  often  during  the  day, 
when  business  flagged,  the  hour  was  improved  in 
that  laudable  way.  There  was  at  one  time  a  rule 
of  the  House,  that  "  Ye  mocion  to  sing  shalbee  ye 
firste  ;  and  let  it  bee  right  saintlie  ; "  the  word  saintly 
I  suppose  being  equivalent  to  our  good  word  nasal. 
I  am  sure  such  an  exercise  might  some  times  prove 
of  great  value  in  these  days,  by  its  tranquilizing 
influence.  Only  think  what  it  might  have  done  in 
the  matter  of  the  liquor  bill ;  or  the  Hartford  and 
Erie  Rail-road.  The  soothing  power  of  music  might 
have  far  greater  effect  in  restoring  to  order  a  tumult- 
uous House,  than  the  speaker's  hammer  —  at  least  so 
long  as  the  latter  continues  to  fall  on  the  senseless 
wood  of  the  desk  instead  of  the  senseless  pates  of  the 
mischief-makers. 

Of  a  cold  winter  morning,  Mr.  Hubbard's  pipes  were 
usually  in  full  tune.  It  was  then,  to  use  a  compari- 
son that  I  am  afraid  will  seem  a  little  like  exaggera- 
tion—  a  thing  so  sedulously  avoided  in  these  pages  — 
that  his  capacious  mouth  would  open  wide,  lifting  the 


LEVI    HUBBARD.  1/3 

upper  story  of  his  head,  surmounted  as  it  was  by  his 
unique  cap,  quite  in  the  manner  of  a  gigantic  coffee- 
pot cover,  his  condensing  breath  issuing  forth  like  a 
volume  of  the  aromatic  vapor.  Then,  too,  his  eyes 
would  close,  and  his  strange,  almost  supernatural 
face  —  for  he  had  the  eccentric  habit  of  constantly 
shaving  off  his  eyebrows  ;  thus  imparting  to  his 
aspect  a  touch  of  the  spectral  —  would  be  thrown  up 
at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five. 

This  sketch,  brief  though  it  necessarily  is,  should 
not  be  closed  without  allusion  at  least  to  one  or  two 
of  Mr.  Hubbard's  traits,  besides  his  eccentricities, 
for  he  had  decidedly  valuable  points  of  character.  In 
Court  and  out,  he,  like  Mr.  Grout,  stood  firmly  for 
allowing  the  largest  liberty  to  every  individual,  con- 
sistent with  the  general  welfare,  particularly  in  mat- 
ters of  conscience.  He  defended  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
and  Roger  Williams  ;  and  his  sentiments  respecting 
the  course  of  the  ruling  powers  towards  them,  were 
the  occasion  of  his  giving  and  receiving  divers  ugly 
wounds.  His  tactics  led  him  rather  to  endeavor  to 
accomplish  his  ends  by  tiring  out  an  opponent  than 
by  a  prompt  attack ;  always  excepting,  of  course, 
those  sudden  and  apparently  altogether  uncontrollable 
manifestations  that  gave  him  a  name  to  be  feared. 

Hugh  Peters,  on  one  occasion,  went  up  from  Salem, 
while  the  Court  was  in  session,  to  convert  him  to  his 
own  views  respecting  Mr.  Williams  ;  which  views,  as 
the  world  know,  were  decidedly  hostile  to  the  good 
man.  But  he  either  under-estimated  Mr.  Hubbard 
or  over-estimated  himself,  and  found  argument  and 
wheedling  alike  ineffectual.  And  being,  like  Peter 


1/4  n-      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

of  old,  of  a  hasty  temper,  he  resorted  to  such  expe- 
dients as  were  sure  to  accomplish  least  with  such  a 
man  as  he  was  then  laboring  with.  They  walked  up 
the  lane,  and  when  near  where  the  Old  South  church 
now  stands,  were  in  such  warm  dispute  as  to  attract 
the  attention  of  a  couple  of  red-and-white  heifers  who 
were  browsing  by  the  fence,  and  who  looked  up  with 
wonder,  evidently  realizing  that  the  two  men  were 
not  conferring  together  in  brotherly  love.  And  did 
the  reader  never  observe  how  readily  the  lower  animals 
distinguish  the  various  tempers  of  men  ?  If  he  did 
not,  there  yet  remains  a  very  interesting  study  for 
him  to  take  up. 

The  animated  discussion  went  on,  and  the  heifers 
still  followed  them  with  wondering  eyes,  till  all  of  a 
sudden  Mr.  Peters  found  himself  sprawling  in  a  bar- 
berry bush.  The  heifers  were  panic  struck  at  this 
manifestation,  and  not  knowing  but  their  turn  might 
come  next,  erected  their  tails,  threw  up  their  heels, 
and  rushed  off  in  a  manner  more  indicative  of  care 
for  their  own  safety  than  sympathy  for  the  poor  man 
in  the  barberry  bush.  Mr.  Hubbard  himself  mani- 
fested, if  possible,  less  curiosity  as  to  the  result  of  his 
forcible  demonstration  than  the  heifers,  and  walked 
on,  as  if  nothing  had  happened  ;  perhaps  in  his  ab- 
stractedness he  did  not  notice  that  any  thing  did 
happen.  It  turned  out,  however,  that  Mr.  Peters  was 
little  injured  beyond  bearing  upon  his  face  and 
hands  ample  evidence  that  even  a  barberry  bush  can 
retaliate  when  its  privacy  is  violently  invaded.  And 
I  should  have  mentioned,  when  speaking  of  Mr.  Hub- 
bard's  street  conference  with  the  Governor  on  Artil- 


LEVI    HUBBARD.  1/5 

lery  election  day,  that  the  latter  dignitary  finally 
received  a  blow  that  sent  him  staggering  against  a 
tree,  and  shaking  his  cocked  hat  from  his  head  into 
a  mud-puddle.  He  was  so  amazed  that  he  gave  a 
bewildered  look  upward  as  if  to  see  if  the  lightning 
might  not  have  had  some  hand  in  the  assault.  But 
recollecting  himself,  he  made  no  doubt  that  he  was  in 
the  company  of  a  mad-man,  and  in  terrible  fright 
took  to  his  heels,  rushing  on,  hatless  and  with  his 
ruffles  flaring  in  the  breeze,  till  he  met  Capt.  Keayne, 
who,  with  drawn  sword,  assumed  the  office  of  body- 
guard. The  offender  was  presently  brought  before 
the  bar  of  the  House,  where  he  was  "censured  to 
pay  a  fyne  of  £40"  An  attempt  was  indeed  made 
to  expel  him  ;  but  there  is  nothing  on  the  records 
to  show  that  such  an  untoward  result  was  accom- 
plished. 

Mr.  Hubbard  had  his  sympathies  deeply  touched 
by  the  sufferings  of  the  Quakers  during  the  persecu- 
tions here  —  if  persecutions  they  may  be  justly  called, 
where  the  authorities  were  so  provoked  and  defied. 
He  managed  to  get  returned  to  the  Court  two  or 
three  times  during  that  dark  period,  though  he  was 
then  well  along  in  years,  and  did  what  he  could  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  the  evil.  He  very  reasonably 
urged  that  the  most  rampant  among  them  should  be 
treated  as  lunatics,  not  as  criminals  ;  that  such  others 
as  were  guilty  of  misdemeanors  under  the  law  should 
be  punished  simply  for  those  misdemeanors ;  and 
that  all  others  should  be  let  alone ;  the  matter  of 
their  religion  not  being  taken  into  account  at  all. 
And  he  was  right.  Persecution  for  religion  only 


1/6  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

makes  the  sufferer  more  resolute,  and,  we  might  say, 
blind  to  the  defects  of  his  system,  and  secures  to  him 
at  once  the  sympathy  of  floating  minds.  Mormonism, 
we  will  venture  to  say,  would  at  this  time  appear  but  as 
a  strange  episode  in  our  past  history,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  Missouri  and  Illinois  persecutions.  Indeed, 
did  it  not  appear  like  irreverence  and  a  leaving  out 
of  view  the  interposition  of  a  divine  hand,  it  might 
be  asked  what  would  have  become  of  Christianity 
had  not  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  flowed  during  its 
early  days. 

Genuine  sympathy  has  an  energizing  power  of  its 
own,  and  is  very  apt  to  assimilate  itself  to  the  object 
that  attracts  it.  And  so  it  fell  out  with  Mr.  Hubbard. 
From  sympathizing  with  the  Quakers,  in  an  abstract 
way,  he  came  by  degrees  to  look  with  approbation  on 
their  principles  ;  and  from  that  he  took  the  next 
natural  step  and  embraced  their  views.  If  the  Qua- 
kers of  that  time  had  been  much  like  those  bearing 
the  name  at  this  day,  it  might  reasonably  have  been 
expected  that  he,  a  sincere  adherent,  would  repress 
further  manifestations  of  his  offensive  propensity. 
But  they  were  an  altogether  different  kind  of  people. 
And  he  does  not  appear  to  have  changed  to  any 
great  extent.  He  was  not  in  very  good  odor,  and 
the  hand  of  persecution  fell  on  him.  His  lands  were 
seized,  and  he  found  it  expedient  to  retire  into  the 
Rhode  Island  jurisdiction. 

It  has  been  fashionable,  in  later  times,  to  stigmatise 
Rhode  Island  as  politically  benighted.  But  in  her 
early  history  are  to  be  found  passages  that  outshine 
any  passages  in  the  history  of  her  sister  colonies 


LEVI    HUBBARD.  I  77 

of  the  same  period.  And  her  reception  of  those 
banished  from  their  homes  for  opinions'  sake  will 
always  remain  to  her  credit. 

Mr.  Hubbard  opened  a  tavern  on  the  road  that  led 
from  the  Providence  settlement  to  the  lower  river 
towns.  And  there  he  prospered.  The  tavern  did 
not  probably  yield  much,  as  hardly  a  dozen  travellers 
passed  that  way  in  a  fortnight.  His  prosperity, 
therefore  —  for  he  was  prosperous  in  being  able  to 
keep  from  starving  to  death  —  may  be  attributed  to 
his  industry  in  fishing  and  small  farming  ;  though  he 
occasionally  did  a  little  shrewd  trading  with  the 
Indians.  And  this  Indian  trading  puts  us  in  mind 
of  the  disaster  that  closed  his  career.  And  with  a 
recital  of  that  disaster  our  career  as  his  biographer 
must  terminate. 

Having  gone  down  to  a  small  Narragansett  settle- 
ment, on  one  of  his  trading  expeditions,  he  sold  to 
a  local  chief  a  wooden  rake.  What  use  the  savage 
intended  to  put  it  to  he  did  not  inquire,  and  the  other 
did  not  inform  him.  But  it  appears  he  wanted  it  to 
dig  clams  with.  As  might  have  been  expected,  it 
was  speedily  a  shapeless  wreck.  The  loss  of  his 
rake  enraged  the  Indian  so  much  that,  with  his  squaw 
lugging  the  remains,  he  sought  out  the  trader  and 
in  the  most  energetic  manner  denounced  him  as  a  vile 
cheat,  using  some  of  those  emphatic  Indian  words 
wherein  are  marshaled  some  ten  or  a  dozen  ks  and  as 
many  ns  and  ts.  The  astonished  trader  turned  upon 
him  one  of  his  great  staring  looks,  as  if  his  compre- 
hension had  become  all  clogged  up  by  the  mysterious 
utterances,  and  stood  as  fixed  as  a  statue.  And  it 

H*  12 


II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 


were  enough  to  dumfounder  a  more  sapient  mortal 
than  he  to  have  such  terrible  words  as  kukketassnta- 
moonk  —  nutahquontamounnonog  —  quttianatamunach 
—  sagkompagunaiinnean  —  hurled  at  his  defenceless 
head,  supported  by  others  equally  destructive,  in  a 
raging  Indian  voice.  Yet  these  are  genuine  Indian 
words,  just  as  they  are  found  in  the  Lord's  prayer  in 
Eliot's  Bible. 

But  after  standing  in  mute  astonishment  a  few 
moments,  Mr.  Hubbard  unluckily  permitted  a  stone 
hammer  to  fly  forth  from  his  hand,  with  great  force, 
hitting  the  exasperated  savage  plump  in  the  stomach, 
and  knocking  him  over  a  jagged  stump.  His  vigilant 
squaw,  witnessing  the  assault  upon  her  dusky  lord, 
in  the  fervor  of  conjugal  resentment  hurled  a  tom- 
ahawk with  murderous  force  at  the  head  of  the  assail- 
ant. It  struck  home,  burying  itself  even  in  the 
brain.  And  the  two  marched  off,  leaving  him  as 
cold  as  the  clods  on  which  he  lay. 

And  then,  with  that  admirable  consistency  which 
so  marked  the  conduct  of  the  colonists,  there  was  a 
great  ferment  among  the  virtuous  people  who  had 
driven  him  off  into  that  far  country.  The  cruelties 
of  the  savages  were  recounted  at  every  fireside,  and 
the  brave  colonial  soldiery  were  called  out  to  avenge 
the  crime  and  teach  the  "tawny  salvage  devils"  a 
lesson  in  the  Christian  tactics  of  extermination. 

In  reviewing  Mr.  Hubbard's  doings  as  a  member 
of  the  General  Court,  we  must  give  him  credit  for; 
the  steadfast  pursuance  of  a  course  that  he  honestly 
believed  would  result  in  the  future  good  of  the  country. 
Like  the  generality  of  the  patriots  of  the  time,  he 


ADONIRAM   NORTON.  1/9 

thought  less  of  polishing  up  the  foundation  stones 
of  the  political  fabric  to  be  reared  on  this  rugged  soil, 
than  of  having  them  firmly  laid  and  well  cemented. 

It  is  instructive,  too,  to  observe  with  what  confi- 
dence the  Court  went  about  its  business,  and  with 
what  assurance,  sometimes  impudence,  it  here  and 
there  deposited  the  little  political  eggs  which  they 
never  doubted  would  in  the  future  be  vitalized  and 
produce  such  results  as  would  astonish  the  world. 
It  may  indeed  be  said  that  they  were  accustomed  to 
count  chickens  before  they  were  hatched.  Well,  and 
where  is  the  harm  in  attempting  to  do  that  ?  If  the 
eggs  are  good  and  the  incubater  faithful  the  result  is 
almost  as  sure  as  a  law  of  nature  can  make  it 


ADONIRAM  NORTON. 

THIS  sketch,  which  closes  our  chapter  on  Shining 
Lights,  can  hardly  be  called  "biographical,"  in  the 
general  understanding  of  the  term,  as  it  is  intended 
simply  to  refer  to  a  few  special  characteristics  of  the 
individual,  and  to  detail  a  few  of  his  peculiar  acts  — 
though  it  is  barely  possible  that  something  further 
may  inweave  itself  from  the  abundance  of  material, 
as  we  proceed.  But  as  it  is  not  judicious  to  make 
promises  when  there  is  no  call  for  them ;  we  will  go 
on  without  further  remark. 

There  always  have  been  and  probably  always  will 


ISO  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

be  in  the  legislature,  members  who  are  mere  talkers. 
But  these  are  useful  in  one  way,  if  no  other.  They 
serve  to  protract  the  annual  sessions,  and  thereby 
put  money  into  the  pockets  of  their  fellow  legislators 
as  well  as  their  own.  Such  ones  fancy  that  they  can 
talk  on  any  subject,  without  preparation,  and  to  the 
purpose  ;  and  under  that  infatuation  are  everlastingly 
jumping  up  to  exhibit  their  shallowness.  They  de- 
stroy what  influence  they  possibly  might  otherwise 
have,  waste  the  time  and  exhaust  the  patience  of  their 
betters,  and  do  violence  to  sweet  silence  itself.  Some 
people  seem  to  think  there  is  no  virtue  in  silence. 
Then  is  there  no  virtue  in  thought,  no  virtue  in  that 
great  internal  machine  which  works  on  silently  and 
evolves  the  outward  act,  and  which,  noiseless  itself,  is 
especially  liable  to  be  disturbed  by  the  clatter  of 
tongues.  Speech  making  very  soon  destroys  the 
reputation  of  one  who  has  not  something  really  sub- 
stantial within  to  strengthen  and  support  that  noisy 
member  which  under  weak  guidance  becomes  as 
sounding  brass. 

So  long  as  a  man  has  discretion  to  preserve  silence, 
there  is  a  mystery  about  him  which  is  quite  likely  to 
give  him  a  value  entirely  undeserved  ;  but  when  he 
profanes  the  silence  he  is  forced  to  his  proper  position. 
It  is  one  of  the  greatest  possible  achievements  of 
self-denial  for  a  talkative  man  to  keep  silence,  as 
conceit  generally  accompanies  talkativeness.  Con- 
stituents are  often  much  to  blame  ;  for  it  is  wonderful 
to  see  how  elated  they  some  times  are  over  the  diluted 
oratory.  It  is  fortunate  for  most  of  these  talkers 
that  it  was  graciously  ordered  that  tongues  are  not 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  l8l 

liable  to  fatigue  and  do  not  wear  out.  But  if  they  did 
wear  out,  I  do  not  know  that  much  would  be  gained, 
as  most  likely  some  ingenious  mechanic  would  invent 
artificial  ones  —  as  it  is  with  teeth  —  and  so  defeat 
a  kind  purpose  of  nature.  Tongueless  heads,  as  well 
as  toothless,  would  probably  be  rare.  But  are  talkers 
useful  in  any  other  way  than  that  named  ?  It  is 
doubtful  if  they  are.  True,  one  who  is  forever  talking 
must  almost  of  necessity  now  and  then  say  a  good 
thing.  Parrots  have  been  known  to  utter  famous 
sayings.  But  the  little  good  that  the  legislative  talk- 
ers do,  is  counterbalanced,  swamped  and  smothered 
by  the  torrent  of  unprofitable  utterances.  One  may 
naturally  have  a  fertile  genius  without  any  power 
of  abstraction  ;  that  is,  he  may  have  ideas  enough 
bubbling  up  in  his  brain,  without  power  to  make  a 
vigorous  pursuit  of  any  particular  one.  And  such  a 
one  ought  to  realize  that  without  severe  discipline  he 
can  never  possess  force  of  character  or  influence. 
The  poet  so  circumstanced  may  indeed  fling  out  a 
spray  of  pearls,  but  for  lack  of  proper  setting  their 
beauty  is  hardly  apparent.  With  such  people  it  is 
easier  to  talk  than  think,  and  so  they  talk  on  to  the 
end. 

It  was  a  remark  of  the  great  Webster,  that  he  never 
allowed  himself  to  attempt,  unprepared,  to  address  an 
assembly,  as  he  would  thereby  not  only  show  disre- 
spect to  them,  but  endanger  his  own  reputation. 
And  that  kindred  spirit,  Rufus  Choate,  often  made  a 
similar  remark  of  himself.  In  his  law  cases,  however 
unimportant  the  matter  involved,  he  thoroughly  pre- 
pared himself,  at  every  point ;  always  relying  for  the 


1 82  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

result,  on  his  own  strength  ;  never  on  the  weakness 
of  his  adversary.  There  is  no  man,  with  a  thimble- 
ful of  common  sense,  who,  after  suitable  investigation, 
cannot  say  something  pertinent  and  useful  on  any 
subject,  and  say  it  in  an  understandable  way,  if  he 
avoids  the  magniloquent.  But  there  are  not  three  in 
forty,  even  with  more  common  sense  than  an  egg-shell 
could  hold,  who  can  say  any  thing  profitable  and  in  a 
graceful  manner,  off-hand,  on  any  subject ;  notwith- 
standing there  are  countless  multitudes  who  flatter 
themselves  that  such  things  are  easily  done. 

It  seems  to  be  the  general  opinion  that  our  Legis- 
latures have  been  year  by  year  deteriorating.  If  that 
is  true,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  cause  lies  in 
the  fact  that  so  many  aspire  to  be  orators,  shunning 
the  work  that  some  body  must  do.  Most  people  find 
it  easier  to  talk  than  work.  And  when  members  are 
ambitious  of  becoming  popular  and  seeing  their  pretty 
names  in  the  newspapers,  there  is  a  strong  temptation 
to  give  the  tongue  full  license.  There  is  some  reason 
to  fear  that  talk  may  yet  be  the  ruin  of  this  nation. 
It  did  more  than  any  thing  else  to  stir  up  the  great 
Rebellion.  And  we  should  take  warning  lest  some 
where  in  the  future,  old  Time  should  find  occasion  to 
weep  over  the  nation's  decease  and  inscribe  on  his 
roll,  "  Died  of  Talk." 

There  is,  however,  in  every  decent  legislative 
assembly,  a  sprinkling  of  doers,  who  in  an  open  and 
honest  way  diligently  apply  themselves  to  the  perform- 
ance of  their  duties,  without  jingle  or  display.  And 
they  are  the  great  salvors  among  the  political  wreckers 
who  so  abound.  Still,  it  must  be  admitted  that  we 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  183 

occasionally  find  among  the  doers,  one  who  exhibits 
traits  little  more  to  be  prized  than  those  of  the  talkers. 
In  fact  unbalanced  people,  whether  talkers  or  doers, 
are  mere  mischief  makers. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  fair  to  say  that  a  large  majority 
of  people  are  passive  and  yielding  —  if  not  morally 
and  mentally  lazy  —  and  suffer  themselves  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  few,  who  very  likely  have  not  half  their 
natural  ability,  but  make  up  by  activity,  ambition, 
and  assurance.  Every  man  has  some  side  door,  or 
back  entrance  to  his  brain  ;  and  whoever  has  the 
patience  and  shrewdness  to  watch  his  chance  and 
whip  into  the  mental  working  chamber,  is  pretty 
sure  to  have  a  hand  in  engineering  the  machinery. 
But  what  can  be  done  about  these  things  ?  Echo 
answers,  What  ? 

Among  the  doers  of  the  unbalanced  class,  must  be 
reckoned  the  member  to  whom  this  sketch  relates  — 
ADONIRAM  NORTON.  And  .it  will  be  observed  that 
he  met  with  a  variety  of  adventures  and  disastrous 
encounters ;  but  the  moving  cause  in  his  case  was 
altogether  different  from  that  which  produced  similar 
effects  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Hubbard.  The  career 
of  both  was  through  the  region  of  peril ;  but  their 
roads  ran  in  very  different  directions.  Yet  from  the 
course  of  either  a  profitable  lesson  may  be  drawn. 

Mr.  Norton  was  a  member  of  the  General  Court 
for  many  years,  and  fancied  that  he  could  do  any 
thing,  from  the  drawing  up  of  the  most  elaborate 
state  paper,  to  the  mending  of  the  wooden  latch  on 
the  House  door.  And  his  conceit  further  led  him  to 
believe  that  no  body  else  could  do  things  so  well  as 


184  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

he.  He  was  not  an  under-hand,  mousing,  dishonest 
plotter,  but  boldly  and  cordially  seized  supposed  duty 
by  the  hand.  All  things  must  be  done  in  his  way, 
or  they  were  not  rightly  done  ;  and  whatever  the 
excellencies  of  the  pie  might  be,  the  flavor  was  not 
good  unless  he  had  a  finger  in  it.  He  not  only  in- 
sisted on  holding  the  axe  himself  but  also  turning 
the  grindstone.  And  it  may  easily  be  imagined  to 
what  inflammatory  results  such  a  disposition  would 
occasionally  lead.  It  made  him  of  course  dogmatical 
and  dictatorial ;  and  soon  gained  for  him  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  meddler.  Snubbing  did  not  deter  him,  for 
he  was  above  being  annoyed  by  petty  insults. 

He  managed  to  get  himself  appointed  on  as  many 
committees  as  possible ;  and  to  most  others  he  at- 
tached himself  as  a  supernumerary.  And  he  really 
did  sometimes  make  himself  useful  in  doing  drudgery 
which  others  to  whom  the  task  legitimately  belonged 
had  shirked.  There  were  in  the  House  some  shrewd 
ones  among  the  talkers,  who  took  advantage  of  him 
as  a  doer,  and  managed  to  strap  their  own  most  gall- 
ing burdens  on  his  ready  shoulders.  But  we  must 
proceed  to  give  a  few  details. 

A  committee  was  sent  out  to  ascertain  some  facts 
in  regard  to  the  tides  in  Charles  river,  near  its  mouth. 
He  was  not  a  member  of  the  committee,  but  took 
upon  himself  the  duty  of  accompanying  them  and 
directing  the  survey  ;  which  interference  was  not  dis- 
tasteful to  them,  as  they  preferred  lazing  around  on 
the  banks  and  eating  clams  as  they  came  hot  from 
their  drift-wood  fire.  Toward  night  they  called  their 
duty  done,  and  took  the  path  homeward. 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  185 

They  had  not  proceeded  far  when  Mr.  Norton  hap- 
pened to  think  of  something  concerning  a  "  sounding 
of  diagonals,"  as  he  called  it,  and  went  back  alone. 
On  reaching  the  margin,  he  pulled  off  his  shoes  and 
leggins,  rolled  up  his  small-clothes  as  far  as  possible, 
and  boldly  entered  the  maze  of  mud  and  water  direct- 
ing his  steps  toward  the  channel.  Presently  he  found 
himself  beyond  firm  footing,  and  in  the  region  of 
quicksands.  His  tender  feet  every  now  and  then 
received  a  gash  from  the  shells  of  the  irate  clams 
whose  domestic  privacy  was  so  unceremoniously  intru- 
ded on ;  for,  as  before  observed,  there  is  hardly  any 
thing  that  has  the  breath  of  life,  even  down  to  the 
almost  inanimate  barberry  bush,  that  at  some  time 
has  not  the  power  and  the  opportunity  to  retaliate  for 
an  invasion  of  its  rights  :  —  a  reason  why  we  should 
walk  circumspectly,  and  void  of  needless  offence 
toward  all. 

A  green  coated  old  lobster  stared  as  he  passed 
by  his  arbor  of  kelp,  and  eagerly  extended  his  grace- 
ful claw.  But  our  friend,  apprehending  that  a  tighter 
grip  than  mere  friendship  required,  was  intended, 
in  some  trepidation  sheared  off  to  the  right.  And 
sundry  other  dangers  his  watchfulness  enabled  him 
to  avoid,  so  that  his  energies  were  reserved  to  meet 
the  danger,  greater  than  all,  that  lay  before  him. 

The  water  was  cold  ;  and  notwithstanding  an  occa- 
sional admonitory  grip  of  the  cramp,  he  kept  on  with 
his  investigations,  till  the  advancing  tide  began  seri- 
ously to  interfere.  It  evidently  had  no  intention  to 
consult  his  convenience,  and  so  he  wisely  concluded  to 
retire.  To  that  end  he  took  a  stride  or  two  off  to  the 


1 86  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

left,  when  ....  down  he  went,  almost  to  his  very 
middle,  in  the  mud.  And  there  he  was,  poor  man,  as 
immovable  as  a  scare-crow  in  a  cornfield.  If  he  had 
not  found  his  "sounding  of  diagonals,"  he  had  reached 
the  "  fixed  perpendicular."  The  affair  now  assumed 
a  really  serious  aspect ;  for,  do  what  he  could,  he  was 
entirely  unable  to  extricate  himself;  indeed  his  des- 
perate struggles  seemed  only  to  sink  him  deeper. 
And  every  body  knows  that  when  one  is  fairly  in  a 
difficulty  it  is  easier  to  get  deeper  than  to  get  clear. 
To  all  appearance  he  was  destined  to  remain  till  the 
rising  water  extinguished  the  very  lamp  of  life.  No 
one  was  near  to  render  assistance  ;  but  he  kept  up  a 
fearful  hallooing.  On  came  the  pitiless  tide.  One 
button  of  his  doublet  disappeared  beneath  it ;  then 
another ;  and  another.  And  then  there  was  a  gurg- 
ling about  his  throat. 

The  last  ray  of  hope  was  expiring,  when,  to  his 
unspeakable  joy,  he  dimly  perceived  a  skiff  whirl 
round  a  bend  of  the  river  and  head  towards  him.  He 
threw  up  his  arms  and  splashed  the  water  about  with 
all  his  power.  And  it  soon  appeared  that  he  had 
secured  attention.  But  what  was  his  dismay  to  see 
a  tall  figure  on  board  first  eye  him  attentively  and 
then  stoop  down  and  seize  a  gun,  with  which  delib- 
erate aim  was  taken  at  his  head,  evidently  under  a 
mistake  that  he  was  some  strange  animal.  He  now 
felt  doubly  convinced  that  a  few  more  minutes  would 
close  his  earthly  record.  Crack  !  went  the  gun.  But 
at  the  critical  instant  the  aim  was  disturbed  by  an- 
other figure  which  sprang  up  and  seized  the  arm 
that  held  the  weapon. 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  187 

The  two  in  the  skiff  were  Sunny  Wave  and  her 
father.  Her  sharper  eye  discerned  the  character 
of  the  object  that  had  attracted  their  attention  ;  and 
her  prompt  movement  saved  the  valuable  life  of  our 
friend,  the  ball  whizzing  off  very  wide  of  its  mark. 

The  water  was  just  submerging  the  chin  of  Mr. 
Norton  when  the  skiff  reached  him.  "  Me  swear 
much ! "  ejaculated  Arrow  John,  instantly  compre- 
hending the  state  of  the  case,  "  Master  Norton  stuck 
in  dam  mud-stocks  !  Swear  more ! "  But  without 
consuming  any  time  on  side  issues,  he  at  once 
grasped  him  by  the  hair  of  the  head,  with  both  hands, 
and  gave  a  desperate  twitch,  a  twitch  that  most  likely 
would  have  forever  relieved  his  shoulders  from  the 
burden  of  supporting  his  head,  had  not  the  hair 
yielded  and  come  out  by  the  roots.  But  not  a  mo- 
ment was  to  be  lost ;  that  was  evident.  The  red 
brother  next  tugged  desperately  at  the  arms,  aided  by 
the  feeble  strength  of  his  daughter,  who  was  sobbing 
violently.  "  Don't  roar,  don't  roar,  little  squaw,"  ex- 
claimed the  observant  parent,  "tug,  tug,  we'll  fetch 
um.  Scream !  Make  dam  noise !  Swear  more ! "  But 
with  all  their  efforts  they  could  effect  nothing.  Then, 
with  a  rapidity  of  action  quite  uncommon  for  an  In- 
dian, down  he  dove,  with  a  tremendous  grunt,  and 
grasped  the  imperiled  legislator  firmly  by  the  legs. 
Possessing  great  muscular  strength,  he  was  able, 
with  a  little  energetic  pulling  and  wrenching,  to  effect 
his  purpose.  And  up  the  two  came,  in  a  surrounding 
of  sprightly  bubbles,  to  the  inexpressible  delight  of 
Sunny  Wave,  who  almost  overset  the  boat  by  her 
antics.  He  was  paddled  ashore  in  all  haste,  and  then 


1 88  II.      SHINING  LIGHTS. 

rubbed  and  rolled  in  the  sand,  and  squeezed,  and 
pounded,  till  he  recovered  strength  enough  to  cry  for 
quarter.  As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  walk,  he  was 
conducted  to  the  tavern  where  he  lodged,  and  a 
liberal  quantity  of  that  invigorating  liquor  so  aptly 
termed  by  the  red  men  fire-water,  poured  into  his 
stomach  as  a  healthy  substitute  for  the  salt  water 
that  had  been  forced  out  by  the  rolling  and  pressing. 
Then  a  warm  bed  awaited  him.  And  when  his  com- 
passionate deliverers  left  for  their  canoe,  he  was  "  as 
comfortable  as  could  be  expected."  But  it  was  days 
before  he  was  able  to  assist  the  lazy  committee  in 
making  up  their  report  to  the  House.  And  when  it 
did  come  it  contained  not  a  word  touching  the  "  sound- 
ing of  diagonals." 

After  this  adventure,  Arrow  John  never  spoke  of 
Mr.  Norton  by  any  other  name  than  "  Master  Stick- 
in-mud."  He  had,  however,  no  idea  of  offering  an 
indignity,  but  simply  pursued  the  interesting  figura- 
tive mode  of  expression  so  much  lauded  as  indicative 
of  the  lofty  poetic  conception  of  the  Indians.  But  the 
nickname  was  snapped  up  by  others,  until  it  was 
generally  adopted,  much  to  his  occasional  annoyance  ; 
and  it  clung  to  him,  with  cruel  tenacity,  to  the  day 
of  his  death. 

The  little  tavern  at  which  Mr.  Norton,  in  common 
with  a  number  of  the  other  Representatives,  boarded, 
was  situated  in  a  pretty  green  lane  of  which  the  present 
Salem  street  formed  a  part.  The  landlord  was  a  right 
jolly  fellow,  and  ready  to  do  any  thing  to  accommo- 
date his  patrons  and  amuse  them  after  the  onerous 
labors  of  the  day.  Among  various  appliances  for 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  189 

the  latter  purpose,  he  had  a  young  bear  that  his 
friend  Arrow  John  had  given  him  in  return  for  an 
indefinite  number  of  mugs  of  home-brewed  beer,  a 
beverage  which,  remarkably  enough  for  an  Indian,  he 
preferred  to  the  strongest  fire-water. 

This  bear  was  usually  held  in  linked  allegiance  to 
the  sign-post  in  front  of  the  house,  and  showed  great 
aptitude  at  drawing  within  the  charmed  circle  of  his 
travels  such  pigs  and  poultry  as  were  more  curious 
than  cautious  ;  though  considerable  of  his  valuable 
time  was  consumed  in  repelling  the  assaults  of  rude 
boys.  He  also  possessed  commendable  ambition  to 
succeed  in  the  higher  attainments  lying  within  the 
mental  scope  of  his  species,  not  being  contented  with 
merely  giving  a  paw,  or  sucking  a  finger  when  invited 
to  the  feat  by  some  juvenile  stroller.  His  master, 
having  a  quick  perception  of  intellectual  development, 
and  a  disposition  to  aid  in  the  progress  of  learning, 
provided  a  teacher,  in  the  person  of  an  uncouth  old 
cripple,  who  had  strayed  up  from  one  of  the  Plymouth 
settlements  some  months  before,  and  claimed  to  be  a 
regular  bear-tamer.  His  pretensions  were  large  ;  but 
it  was  evident  that  no  professional  attempts  on  his 
own  self  had  been  successful. 

Mr.  Norton  was  not  long  in  ignorance  of  what 
was  going  on,  and  of  course  usurped  the  position 
of  the  cripple,  taking  the  task  of  training  into  his 
own  hands,  declaring  that  it  was  a  pity  that  the  evi- 
dently superior  natural  gifts  of  bruin  should  remain 
dormant  for  want  of  proper  instruction.  So,  in  pur- 
suance of  this  self-imposed  duty,  he  devoted  many  an 
evening  and  morning  hour  to  the  company  of  his 


II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 


four-footed  pupil,  sometimes  in  the  presence  of  a 
crowd  of  his  brother  Representatives.  Nor  did  the 
•dignified  Assistants,  or  even  the  Governor,  forego 
the  opportunity  to  occasionally  witness  the  rare  diver- 
sion. The  few  bites  and  scratches  he  received,  served 
only  to  increase  his  respect  for  the  talents  —  perhaps 
talons,  would  be  as  appropriate  orthography  —  of  the 
woodland  captive,  and  his  conviction  that  he  was  in 
the  way  of  duty.  It  was  delightful  as  well  as  instruc- 
tive to  see  how,  after  a  few  lessons,  bruin  would  seat 
himself  as  far  out  as  his  chain  would  permit,  meekly 
fold  his  paws,  and  look  up  and  listen.  And  when  he 
came  to  the  practical  tests,  on  an  exhibition  morning, 
it  was  highly  edifying  to  observe  with  what  assiduity 
he  would  endeavor  to  display  his  accomplishments, 
and  perform  such  new  exercises  as  might  be  suggested 
to  his  rapidly  developing  intellect.  It  was  clear  that 
he  soon  saw  he  had  a  part  to  perform  in  the  world, 
and  that  much  was  expected  of  him.  Indeed  Mr. 
Norton  took  every  method  to  impress  upon  him  the 
scriptural  injunction  that  much  would  be  required 
from  those  to  whom  much  had  been  given. 

It  was  Mr.  Norton's  invariable  custom,  on  a  sunny 
morning,  to  step  out,  take  a  pinch  of  snuff,  look  the 
cheerful  luminary  square  in  the  face,  and  quietly  stand 
till  a  hearty  sneeze  came  to  his  relief.  It  was  not 
that  he  had  confidence  in  the  Persian  faith  and  was 
endeavoring  to  propitiate  their  object  of  worship,  but 
that  he  was  a  true  believer  in  the  good  effects  of 
sneezing,  and  imagined  that  the  operation  of  the 
snuff  was  energized  by  the  sunbeams. 

The  bear's  attention  had  never  been  specially  di- 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  IQI 

rected  to  this  custom  of  his  fellow-laborer  for  the 
entertainment  of  their  mutual  friends,  but  being  an 
observant  animal,  and  having  withal  a  lively  inclina- 
tion to  imitate  good  actions,  he  was  frequently  seen, 
particularly  when  Mr.  Norton  was  in  view,  to  dab  his 
right  paw  into  the  left,  and  then  gravely  tap  his  nose. 
This  done,  he  would  cock  his  blinking  eyes  toward 
the  sun,  as  if  he  felt  it  a  god  to  worship,  and  keep  them 
there  till  the  agony  was  almost  overpowering.  Next, 
he  would  make  a  ridiculous  attempt  at  sneezing. 
And  then,  if  his  success  were  at  all  commensurate 
with  his  effort,  he  would  take  a  turn  around  the  post 
and  seat  himself  with  marked  satisfaction.  His  grav- 
ity during  these  feats  was  so  ludicrous  that  an  Egyp- 
tian sphynx  could  almost  be  expected  to  laugh. 

It  is  astonishing  what  makes  some  animals  imitate 
particular  actions  and  disregard  others.  I  once  knew 
a  parrot,  belonging  to  a  young  lady,  who  thoughtlessly 
permitted  it  to  remain  in  the  room  while  she  held 
tender  interviews  with  the  young  man  to  whom  she 
was  affianced.  It  was  not  long  before  the  reprobate 
bird,  whenever  he  saw  the  youth  come  in,  no  matter 
who  was  present,  began  to  make  the  most  whimsical 
attempts  to  imitate  a  smack  of  the  lips,  much  to  the 
annoyance  of  its  blushing  little  mistress.  But  this 
paragraph  is  clearly  impertinent  to  our  subject,  and 
should  be  omitted  in  reading. 

It  is  not  inappropriate,  however,  while  speaking  of 
the  traits  of  the  lower  animals,  to  say  a  word  respecting 
certain  characteristics  and  assumptions  of  our  young 
friend  Sunny  Wave.  She  exhibited  a  wonderful  com- 
prehension of  the  powers,  tempers,  and  means  of 


192  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

communication,  so  to  speak,  of  all  living  things.  And 
it  was  not  uncommon  for  her,  with  the  utmost  sin- 
cerity and  assurance  to  undertake  to  interpret  the 
cries  and  calls  of  beast  and  bird. 

Conceptions  of  this  kind  would,  of  course,  be  more 
likely  to  prevail  among  such  untutored  children  of 
nature  than  among  the  philosophical  and  learned. 
But  yet,  she  seems  really  to  have  possessed  so  mar- 
velous a  power  in  modulating  her  voice  by  the  songs 
of  birds,  and  apparently  responding  to  the  burden 
of  their  carols,  in  language  they  understood,  as  almost 
to  convince  that  she  certainly  could  make  good  her 
claim.  And  her  white  friends,  in  their  woodland 
rambles,  frequently  received  exquisite  gratification 
from  her  amazing  feats.  She  unhesitatingly  declared 
that  her  feathered  friends  often  told  her  of  the  beau- 
tiful lands  they  visited  in  their  migrations,  of  their 
loves  and  their  trials  ;  and  more  than  all  else,  that 
they  occasionally  came  with  pleasant  tidings  from 
the  bright  land  where  the  Great  Spirit  dwelt.  With 
touching  earnestness  she  adhered  to  these  conceits 
and  showed  her  sincerity  by  the  impressions  of  joy 
or  sadness  she  received  through  them. 

In  the  whispering  of  the  trees,  too,  there  was  to 
her  a  living  language.  The  sighing  of  a  hemlock 
always  had  a  saddening  influence ;  for  she  said  it 
spoke  only  of  something  sorrowful.  Scarcely  ever 
could  she,  without  a  tear,  listen  to  the  mournful 
sound.  And  she  affirmed  that  on  the  day  of  her 
mother's  death,  while  far  away,  sitting  on  a  rock,  by 
the  side  of  a  brook,  with  another  Indian  maid,  twining 
rushes,  she  heard  the  old  hemlock  near  which  they 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  1 93 

sat,  tell  the  brook  about  the  great  calamity  that  was 
even  then  falling  upon  her. 

She  made  no  boast  of  her  power,  nor  attempted 
any  explanation.  And  probably  there  can  be  no  expla- 
nation which  leaves  out  of  view  her  rare  quickness 
of  apprehension,  sensitiveness,  and  acuteness  of  ob- 
servation. We  speak  of  a  renovating  spirit  some- 
times breathed  into  a  man  ;  but  can  he  explain  the 
operation  or  do  any  thing  more  than  simply  realize 
the  blessed  possession  ?  It  is  not  wise  to  undertake 
to  set  bounds  in  such  matters  ;  for  who  can  know 
enough  of  nature  and  nature's  laws  to  interpret  these 
her  mysteries.  Every  body  can  call  to  mind  instances 
wherein  it  seemed  to  them  that  they  could  all  but 
grasp  the  chord  of  communication  with  some  favorite 
object  of  the  inferior  tribes. 

But  be  the  power  what  it  may,  it  evidently  imparted 
a  peculiar  charm  to  the  bright  forest  child  to  whom 
we  have  so  often  alluded,  and  did  much  to  render  her 
an  object  of  especial  interest  to  the  more  cultivated 
of  the  settlers.  What  the  effect  of  such  ideas  was  in 
the  moulding  and  modifying  of  her  whole  character  it 
is  not  our  purpose  to  endeavor  to  show.  But  that  they 
engendered  fortitude  in  many  a  trying  exigency,  there 
is  little  doubt.  And  it  is  proposed  here  to  briefly 
notice  a  touching  instance  in  which  her  courageous 
endurance  was  singularly  conspicuous. 

Somewhere  in  what  is  known  as  the  Highland 
district  of  Boston,  was  a  wild  retreat,  much  visited 
by  the  little  pic-nic  parties  of  the  time.  The  walk 
thither  from  the  chief  settlement,  was  rather  long, 
but  at  that  time  pedestrianism  was  esteemed  less  a 
I  13 


194  n-      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

hardship  than  it  now  is.  The  woods  around  were 
dense,  and  the  ponds  and  little  brooks  added  their 
animating  charms  to  the  diversified  landscape. 

It  was  in  this  retreat  that  a  party  of  young  people 
assembled  on  a  warm  August  afternoon,  and  engaged 
with  flowing  spirits  in  the  sports  appropriate  to  such 
an  occasion.  Sunny  Wave  appeared  among  them, 
and  by  her  exploits  added  much  to  the  entertainment. 
So  agreeably  did  the  time  pass,  that  the  shades  of 
night  were  fast  gathering  when  they  began  to  realize 
that  it  was  high  time  to  take  the  path  homeward.  It 
was  just  then  discovered  that  one  of  the  younger  girls 
was  missing.  No  great  alarm  was  felt,  and  Sunny 
Wave  promptly  volunteered,  in  company  with  one 
of  the  young  men,  to  go  in  quest  of  her,  while  the 
others  leisurely  pursued  their  way  toward  the  town. 

But  the  search  was  not  so  successful  as  anticipated. 
Neither  by  shouts  nor  any  other  means  could  they 
accomplish  any  thing,  and  soon  began  to  entertain 
serious  apprehensions.  They  were  still  beating  about 
when  deep  darkness  had  set  in.  A  broad  swamp 
stretched  away  westward,  along  the  confines  of  which 
they  followed  a  cart-way,  till  a  wide  quagmire  inter- 
vened. Pausing  to  consider  what  step  next  to  take, 
they  were  startled  by  the  wild  ringing  note  of  a 
whip-poor-will,  circling  within  the  swamp. 

Sunny  Wave  was  quite  overcome  by  the  abrupt 
cry,  and  stood  in  breathless  silence  listening  for  fur- 
ther utterances  of  the  mysterious  bird.  The  plaintive 
notes  were  repeated  again  and  again.  Then  she  be- 
came agitated,  aud  in  solemn  whispers  announced  to 
her  companion  that  they  were  death  notes,  and  that 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  1 95 

the  bird  was  then  wheeling  over  the  spot  where  lay 
the  remains  of  the  object  of  their  search,  and  was 
calling  them  thither.  He  was  greatly  shocked,  and 
would  have  retreated.  But  she  seized  his  hand  and 
hurried  right  down  into  the  dreary  mazes  of  the 
swamp.  Straight  on  she  led,  regardless  of  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  way,  guided  by  the  still  repeated  wail 
of  the  whip-poor-will,  he  accompanying  as  unresist- 
ingly as  if  under  the  spell  of  an  enchantress. 

They  reached  a  great  hemlock  that  threw  aloft  its 
mournful  branches,  and  in  the  night  breeze  whispered 
to  her  as  she  averred,  the  story  of  the  calamity.  On 
a  dry  branch  above  their  heads  sat  the  bird  whose 
voice  had  lured  them  to  that  lonely  spot.  A  few 
paces  off  was  a  pool  of  deep,  black  waters,  surrounded 
by  briars  and  rocks,  abounding  with  hidden  dangers, 
and  seeming  like  some  infernal  toil  prepared  for  the 
destruction  of  the  unwary.  They  scrambled  down, 
at  the  only  accessible  point,  for  she  well  knew  the 
place,  and  peered  into  the  murky  depths.  A  deathly 
silence  brooded  there,  and  no  token  of  recent  disturb- 
ance of  the  dark  surface  appeared. 

Sunny  Wave  leaned  over,  almost  beyond  her  poise, 
her  loose  locks  dangling  even  in  the  water,  and  with 
earnest  eye  scanned  every  mark  that  might  determine 
the  dread  inquiry.  Then  suddenly  another  note  of 
the  night  bird  rang  out  with  startling  energy,  and  at 
the  same  instant  a  flash  of  lightning  came,  in  a  fiery 
crinkle  descending  into  the  dark,  weird  depths  of 
the  pool,  illumining  its  remotest  privacy.  Quick 
almost  as  the  flash  itself  the  ardent  girl  plunged  right 
down  into  the  abyss,  and  the  cold  waters  closed  over 


196  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

her.  So  long  did  she  remain  that  the  surface  regained 
its  quiescence,  and  the  young  man  began  to  have 
sickening  apprehensions  that  she  would  never  rise 
again.  But  she  did  ascend,  bearing  a  weight  almost 

beyond  her  strength It  was  the  lifeless  form 

of  the  lost  maiden. 

No  effort  of  theirs  could  restore  life  to  the  fated 
one.  And  without  uttering  a  word  they  bore  their 
dripping  burden  to  the  foot  of  the  hemlock  and  laid 
it  gently  down.  Then  the  Indian  girl,  in  perfect 
calmness,  bade  her  companion  hasten  away  for  aid, 
saying  that  she  would  remain  watching  with  the  dead 
till  relief  came.  Without  a  word  of  remonstrance  he 
prepared  to  obey,  and  she  hastily  guided  him  to  the 
path.  Then  she  returned  to  the  tree,  and  gathering 
her  wet  garments  about  her,  sat  down  to  her  lonely 
vigil,  taking  the  pale,  cold  head,  with  face  upturned 
upon  her  lap. 

As  midnight  approached,  the  tempest  which  for 
hours  had  been  threatened  came  furiously  on.  The 
dense,  black  clouds  spread  out  like  a  mighty  pall,  the 
lightnings  sped  in  golden  chains  across  them,  while 
the  thunders  reverberated  with  majestic  echos  among 
the  hills.  Then  the  winds  whistled  and  the  torrents 
poured.  But  no  raging  of  the  elements  could  daunt 
the  gentle  watcher. 

The  fury  of  the  storm  was  soon  spent,  and  the 
moon  and  stars  began  fitfully  to  throw  their  serene 
rays  down  through  the  openings  of  the  retreating 
clouds.  And  the  branches  swayed  gently  to  and  fro 
as  if  to  permit  the  placid  light  once  more  to  kiss  the 
pale  face  that  lay  upturned  to  that  calm,  intrepid  gaze. 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  197 

By  some  unfortuitous  circumstance,  no  relief  came 
till  the  dawn  of  morning.  And  they  found  Sunny 
Wave  still  seated  under  the  branches  of  the  old  hem- 
lock with  the  lifeless  head  upon  her  knee.  To  their 
expressions  of  wonder  at  her  courage,  she  only  replied, 
"  I  no  fraid.  White  girl  never  hurt  when  alive.  Why 
hurt  when  dead  ?  Had  talk  with  trees  and  bird  about 
my  mother.  She  now  with  Great  Spirit.  White  girl 
there  too.  Once  got  up  to  drive  off  wolf.  All  safe 
now.  I  go  back  to  wigwam." 

It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  occurrence  here  detailed 
should  have  created  a  marked  sensation  throughout 
the  settlements,  nor  that  the  heroic  conduct  of  the 
Indian  girl  should  have  been  greatly  applauded.  It 
indeed  led  to  the  formation  of  new  and  valuable 
friendships.  Among  others,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Eliot,  of 
the  Roxbury  church,  took  great  pains  to  win  her 
confidence  and  prepare  her  virgin  mind  for  the  higher 
instruction  he  was  so  anxious  and  so  able  to  bestow. 
She  fully  appreciated  his  kindness,  and  presently 
became  a  frequent  visitor  at  his  house.  Her  grati- 
tude was  shown  in  various  ways.  And  she  at  differ- 
ent times  induced  her  father  to  afford  the  good  man 
important  assistance  in  his  apostolic  labors  among 
the  fierce  Natics.  But  the  rarest  enjoyments  are 
often  succeeded  by  the  most  grievous  pains.  And 
her  happy  familiarity  in  that  hospitable  home  was 
ultimately  the  occasion  of  many  afflictive  hours. 

The  young  man  who  had  borne  her  company  on 
that  distressing  night  in  the  woods,  was  an  inmate 
of  the  family  of  Mr.  Eliot,  though  in  what  capacity, 
does  not  appear.  It  in  time  became  apparent  that 


198  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

he  cherished  a  regard  for  her,  much  more  tender  than 
the  word  friendship  would  express.  His  friends  be- 
came greatly  concerned,  but  offered  their  counsel 
with  hesitancy,  as  it  was  a  puzzling  question  what 
view  to  take  of  probable  ultimate  events.  Similar 
unions,  which  were  not  uncommon,  particularly  along 
the  frontier  settlements  had  sometimes  proved  highly 
successful ;  though  it  could  not  be  denied  that  more 
commonly  the  reverse  was  true.  And  the  attachment 
of  the  youth  strengthened,  day  by  day,  as  every  im- 
pediment suggested  by  friend  or  foe  faded  away  in 
the  ardent  glow  that  had  beamed  upon  his  path. 

But  the  whole  difficulty  was  presently  solved  by 
Sunny  Wave  herself.  Her  quick  perceptions  discov- 
ered to  her  the  predilection  of  the  young  man,  and 
she  became  much  disturbed,  availing  herself  of  every 
opportunity  to  signify  to  him  in  some  gentle  way  her 
disinclination.  As  he  became  more  and  more  per- 
sistent she  became  more  and  more  decided.  And 
her  visits  to  places  where  she  would  be  likely  to  meet 
him  were  less  and  less  frequent.  This,  however,  was 
perhaps  viewed  as  mere  coyness.  Finally  she  took 
an  opportunity  to  fully  unburden  her  mind  to  Mr. 
Eliot,  and  beseech  him  to  interpose  his  good  offices. 
"I  no  fit  for  white  man  squaw,"  said  she,  "  White 
man  no  fit  for  me.  He  love  big  house.  I  love  poor 
little  wigwam.  He  love  much  book,  (casting  her 
eyes  around  the  library  shelves.)  I  love  read  stars 
and  flowers."  And  so  she  went  on  in  her  simple, 
earnest  way  enumerating  what  seemed  irreconcilable 
points  of  divergance,  till  her  reverend  counsellor  be- 
came seriously  impressed.  And  then  she  added, 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  1 99 

"White  man  love  for  Indian  wife  die  slow,  slow,  till 
all  gone.  Then  she  sorry.  Wish  dead.  Sunny  Wave 
tell  father.  He  say,  '  No  like  it.  Dam.  Swear  much. 
Little  squaw  have  Indian  brave.'  Can't  have  Rob. 
Yow  tell  um.  I  sorry.  Cry  much.  Sunny  Wave 
say,  No,  no.  Rob  say,  Yes,  yes.  Then  she  no  more 
come  here.  He  no  more  see  her." 

Mr.  Eliot  was  greatly  moved  by  her  artless  impor- 
tunity and  urged  upon  the  youth  the  many  strong 
reasons  for  relinquishing  his  pursuit.  And  he  had 
sufficient  command  over  his  feelings  to  finally  yield 
to  the  counsel  of  his  friends.  But  the  occurrence 
proved  to  be  in  some  respects  an  unfortunate  episode 
in  the  lives  of  both.  This,  however,  is  not  the  place 
for  the  narration  of  subsequent  events  connected  with 
the  affair. 

Nor  is  it  the  place  to  enlarge  upon  the  action  of 
the  Court,  which  the  affair  gave  rise  to.  It  was  the 
remote  cause  of  some  of  the  peculiar  enactments 
touching  the  domestic  relations  which  have  afforded 
so  much  amusement  to  the  people  of  later  days.  Mr. 
Norton  took  great  interest  in  the  matter,  induced 
perhaps,  in  the  first  place,  by  the  fact  that  the  young 
man  had  previously  shown  partiality  to  a  pretty  niece 
of  his. 

But  we  must  now  return  to  the  too  long  neglected 
company  of  Mr.  Norton. 

His  labors  at  bear-training  came  to  a  speedy  and 
abrupt  end.  By  some  mysterious  means  the  ungrate- 
ful beast,  during  a  tempestuous  night,  disappeared. 
If  he  went  back  to  his  kindred  of  the  forest  he  was 
not  perhaps  very  highly  censurable ;  for  the  spirit 


2OO  II.      SHINING   LIGHTS. 

of  the  adage,  "  Home  is  home  if  ever  so  homely,"  is 
felt  just  as  strongly  in  the  breast  of  a  bear  as  in  any 
other  breast.  But  inasmuch  as  his  friend  the  Ply- 
mouth cripple  had  manifested  some  jealousy  and  ill- 
nature  at  having  his  professional  labor  taken  with  so 
little  ceremony  out  of  his  hands  by  Mr.  Norton,  and 
had  disappeared  on  the  same  tempestuous  night, 
there  were  suspicions  that  the  two  had  commenced 
their  travels  in  company.  If  that  were  the  case, 
however,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  they  had  a  falling  out 
by  the  way  ;  for  a  few  days  after,  an  Indian  appeared 
in  Boston,  with  a  bear  skin  for  sale,  very  much,  in 
color  and  capacity,  like  that  which  the  lost  bruin  was 
accustomed  to  wear.  And  upon  the  neck  part  there 
was  a  chafed  circle,  looking  a  good  deal  as  if  the 
original  owner  of  the  skin  had  been  accustomed  to 
wear  a  linked  necklace.  The  Indian  said  he  killed 
the  bear  when  he  was  in  full  chase  after  a  limping 
something  that  much  resembled  one  of  the  tavern 
keeper's  scare-crows  ;  and  that  he  had  come  round  by 
the  corn-field  to  see  if  any  were  missing. 

One  day  Mr.  Norton  came  halting  into  the  House 
with  his  head  bound  up,  and  all  his  visible  parts 
bruised  and  scratched,  his  clothes  torn,  and  on  the 
whole  in  a  miserably  dilapidated  condition.  In  this 
case,  as  usual,  he  had  been  the  victim  of  his  presump- 
tuous interference. 

On  his  way  to  the  Court  he  came  across  a  wood- 
chopper  busily  at  work  on  the  side  of  a  hill.  And 
nothing  would  do  but  he  must  hand  over  his  axe  and 
take  a  lesson  on  felling  and  trimming.  This  was  not 
at  all  distasteful  to  the  chopper,  as  it  afforded  an. 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  2OI 

opportunity  for  him  to  lounge  on  a  neighboring  rock, 
and  feast  upon  the  grapes  that  hung  invitingly  about 
his  head.  The  work  went  bravely  on,  for  our  hero 
did  with  diligence  what  his  hands  undertook  to  do. 
Presently  the  remains  of  an  ancient  walnut,  already 
felled,  had  been  disposed  of,  and  he  applied  himself  to- 
the  task  of  leveling  a  stately  oak.  And  this,  yielding 
more  suddenly  than  anticipated,  came  near  forever 
ending  his  labors.  As  it  descended  crashing  to  the 
earth,  it  took  him  in  its  inhospitable  embrace,  and 
produced  the  personal  damage  so  apparent.  His  poor 
head,  as  he  cunningly  remarked,  never  got  such  a 
scratching  before.  Indeed  he  was  scratched  almost 
as  desperately  as  the  hero  of  the  quickset  hedge 
whose  pathetic  story  has  drawn  so  many  tears  ;  and 
that,  without  the  privilege  of  the  proximity  of  the 
other  hedge  in  which  to  jump  and  cure  the  mischief 
of  the  first.  This  was  about  enough  for  one  morn- 
ing's work.  And  as  soon  as  he  had  washed  in  a 
neighboring  brook,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  chopper 
bound  up  his  head,  obtaining  material  by  the  sacrifice 
of  a  considerable  portion  of  his  under  garment,  he 
limped  off  to  the  Court,  where  he  had  the  good  fortune 
to  arrive  just  in  time  to  save  himself  from  a  fine  for 
tardiness. 

As  Mr.  Norton  was  one  day  walking  on  the  beach 
that  stretched  along  a  little  east  of  what  is  now  Dock 
Square,  cogitating  on  a  knotty  question  which  had 
that  morning  disturbed  the  equanimity  of  the  House, 
he  observed  a  teamster  loading  seaweed  in  what  to 
him  seemed  a  very  unprofessional  way.  He  immedi- 


2O2  II.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

ately  seized  the  fork,  and  proceeded  to  show  how  the 
thing  should  be  done.  The  teamster  sat  down  on  a 
sand  bank  and  complacently  watched  the  progress 
of  the  work,  while  he  enjoyed  his  pipe.  Things  went 
on  well  till  an  unlucky  turn  sent  the  fork  deep  into 
the  flank  of  poor  dobbin.  Now  a  man  while  indulging 
in  a  good  smoke  can  endure  almost  any  provocation 
with  equanimity,  so  deliciously  absorbing  is  the 
enjoyment.  But  there  are  some  trespasses  beyond 
the  limit  of  human  endurance.  And  Mr.  Norton,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  teamster  committed  one  of  them,  when 
he  thus  assaulted  the  unwary  beast. 

Dobbin  naturally  enough  received  the  thrust  as  a 
more  than  commonly  sharp  hint  to  push  on.  And 
off  he  dashed  at  a  speed  which  any  one  who  had 
known  him  for  the  previous  twenty  years  would 
hardly  have  believed  him  capable  of.  The  cart  was 
overturned  and  dismembered,  and  every  thing  broken 
that  could  be.  The  teamster  was  appalled  on  wit- 
nessing the  disaster.  But  he  was  not  long  in  pro- 
ceeding to  action.  The  peace-making  pipe  had  no 
power  over  him,  and  he  fiercely  assailed  the  author 
of  the  mischief.  He  did  not  generalize  his  profanity, 
like  Arrow  John  in  his  "  Swear  much,"  and  "  Swear 
more,"  but  came  down  on  the  offending  head  with 
individual  oaths  of  tremendous  emphasis.  And  huge 
stones  as  well  as  huge  oaths  flew  furiously  about. 

Mr.  Norton  on  this  occasion  received  a  severe 
wound  on  the  back  of  the  neck  which  gave  him  such 
a  shock  that  he  was  unable  to  attend  to  his  legislative 
duties  for  two  or  three  days.  But  the  greater  shock 
was  given  to  his  moral  sensibilities,  by  the  profanity 


ADONIRAM    NORTON.  2O3 

of  the  teamster,  who  was  summoned  before  the  Court, 
and  compelled  to  act  the  part  of  a  statue,  with  his 
offending  tongue  in  a  cleft  stick. 

On  the  solemn  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  a  member 
of  the  Court,  there  was  an  adjournment,  that  the 
others  might  attend  the  remains  to  the  grave.  A 
special  committee  was  appointed  to  make  the  proper 
arrangements ;  and  Mr.  Norton,  though  not  a  member, 
of  course  acted  as  one.  After  the  long  procession 
had  filed  by  the  grave,  each  one  taking  a  last  look 
and  dropping  in  a  little  sprig  of  evergreen,  our  friend 
lingered  behind  to  see  the  coffin  fitly  arranged  in  its 
final  resting  place.  He  took  some  time  to  explain 
the  proper  mode  of  performing  such  duties,  exhaust- 
ing all  the  patience  of  the  sexton  and  his  roguish 
assistant  who  were  in  a  great  hurry  to  be  off  on  a 
husking  frolic.  Stepping  hastily  over  the  loose  gravel 
on  the  brink,  he  lost  his  balance  and  was  precipitated 
head  foremost  into  the  grave.  The  angry  sexton, 
pretending  not  to  have  observed  the  accident,  began 
to  rattle  down  upon  him  the  stones  and  gravel,  with 
a  will.  And  when  the  shrieks  of  the  victim  left  no 
room  for  further  pretense,  a  reluctant  hand  was  ex- 
tended for  his  deliverance.  But  he  had  to  suffer  the 
pains  of  a  broken  jaw,  as  well  as  the  taunts  and  jibes 
of  some  of  his  unappreciative  fellow-legislators. 

But  quite  enough  instances  have  been  given  to 
illustrate  the  character  of  Mr.  Norton.  Disasters 
similar  to  those  narrated  were  constantly  befalling 
him.  A  volume  might  be  filled  with  details  of  his 


2O4  H.       SHINING    LIGHTS. 

eccentric  doings  and  the  difficulties  to  which  they 
led.  Nothing  could  cure  him  of  his  unfortunate  incli- 
nation. And  neither  the  painful  admonition  of  his 
wounds  nor  the  silent  admonition  of  his  scars  seemed 
to  have  the  least  restraining  effect. 

It  would  be  too  remote  from  our  purpose  to  follow 
him  into  his  retirement  after  his  public  duties  were 
ended.  He  became  a  resident  of  Concord.  And 
there,  even  during  his  closing  years,  was  constantly 
engaging  in  exploits  such  as  one  would  have  thought 
might  have  made  it  wise  for  him  ever  to  keep  his 
coffin  at  hand.  He  became  almost  preternaturally 
weak  and  attenuated,  by  loss  of  blood  from  his  veins 
and  marrow  from  his  bones.  And  his  visage  was  so 
covered  with  marks,  and  creases,  and  crow-feet,  and 
scars,  that  it  seemed  as  if  old  Time  had  with  iron 
graver  been  writing  a  complete  history  of  his  mishaps 
there  as  on  a  tablet. 

As  before  remarked,  Mr.  Norton  was  one  of  the 
unbalanced  doers.  And  from  his  career  we  may  see 
how  little  they  are  to  be  valued  as  legislators.  It  is 
the  well-balanced  doer  who  is  the  state  jewel.  And 
in  other  portions  of  this  volume  divers  of  these  are 
presented  for  the  admiration  of  the  reader.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  sketch  one  of  the  talkers,  for  whoever 
desires  to  behold  a  living  specimen  can  be  gratified 
by  a  visit  to  our  legislative  halls  at  any  time. 

Besides  the  objectionable  things  about  the  talkers 
already  noticed,  there  is  one,  worse  perhaps  than  any 
other  as  a  time-waster.  And  that  is  their  everlast- 
ingly running  into  impertinent  lines  of  argument. 
If  they  happen  to  have  a  little  classical  learning, 


ADONIRAM    NORTON. 


the  peace  of  Greece  and  Rome  is  disturbed.  If  they 
have  laid  violent  hands  on  the  innocent  encyclopedia, 
every  sort  of  learned  diversion  ensues.  And  with 
others  come  in  the  common,  every-day  interests  to 
attract  to  right  and  left.  It  has  sometimes  occurred 
to  the  writer,  in  a  figurative  way,  that  it  would  be 
well  to  provide,  at  the  public  expense,  a  supply  of 
side-blinders,  to  be  worn  by  such  legislators  as  are 
especially  liable  to  prance  off  on  side  issues. 

But  we  must  bid  adieu  to  our  superserviceable 
friend.  He  was  a  genius,  as  has  sufficiently  appeared  ; 
but  his  talents  were  displayed  in  such  an  infelicitous 
manner  that  he  became  hedged  about  by  the  thorns 
and  briars  of  disgust  and  ill-will  ;  a  very  offensive 
position,  though  one  which  many  seem  rather  to  take 
pleasure  in  occupying. 

And  we  leave  him  at  his  last  resting  place,  in 
Concord  —  enviable  Concord,  whither  have  followed 
him  other  men  of  renown,  in  majestic  procession  even 
down  to  this  our  day  —  blessed  Concord,  the  paradise 
of  genius  and  philosophy  —  transcendental  Concord, 
in  whose  shady  dells  the  mystic  sage  has  loved  to 
meditate  —  flowery  Concord,  in  whose  dewy  fields 
the  poet  has  sought  inspiration  —  ideal  Concord,  in 
whose  weird  mazes  the  romancer  has  delighted  to 
muse  —  honest  Concord,  in  which  the  juridical  devotee 
has  worshiped  his  musty  tomes  —  sweet  Concord,  on 
whose  verdant  river  banks,  the  lover  has  whispered 
tender  tales  —  patriotic  Concord  whose  gallant  sons 
so  bodly  met  the  invading  foe  who  came  to  smother 
the  fire  of  liberty  which  they  were  just  striving  with 


2O6  II.      SHINING    LIGHTS. 

their  dearest  breath  to  kindle  —  happy  Concord,  of 
famous  record,  of  rural  quietude,  of  landscape  beauty — 
lucky  Concord,  that  holds  the  dust  of  ADONIRAM 
NORTON. 

It  often  happens  in  the  course  of  legislation  that 
the  labors  which  prove  most  useful  are  simply  those 
which  prevent  most  mischief.  And  such  labors  are 
generally  met  with  the  severest  criticism  ;  for  in  this 
ruined  world,  men's  principles  usually  run  in  con- 
formity with  their  hopes  of  reward,  creating  an  infi- 
nite variety  of  cross-cuts  over  every  honest  way. 

In  these  few  sketches  of  legislative  lights,  it  may 
appear  to  some  that  the  lesser  luminaries  have  been 
too  generally  presented.  But  those  greater  lights, 
as  Dudley,  Holyoke,  Nowell,  Pinchon,  Saltonstall,  and 
their  compeers,  shine  too  refulgently  on  the  pages 
of  history  to  justify  the  brief  and  imperfect  notices 
that  could  be  here  given.  From  the  careers  of  those 
we  have  presented  some  useful  hints,  we  trust,  will  be 
drawn,  and  thus  our  labor  of  love  prove  successful. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

IF  it  is  proper  to  call  legislators  workers,  and  what 
they  do,  their  works,  then  I  suppose  it  is  proper 
to  call  the  place  where  the  work  is  done,  a  work-house. 
It  has  been  intimated  by  slanderous  tongues  that 
dominant  political  parties,  as  well  as  towns,  not 
unfrequently  have  certain  dependents  whom  they  feel 
it  expedient  to  provide  for,  pecuniarily,  in  a  delicate 
way,  and  so  send  them  up  to  the  State  House.  Thus 
these  party  or  municipal  paupers  are,  after  all,  sent 
to  the  work-house,  though  a  somewhat  different  insti- 
tution from  that  generally  known  by  the  name,  and 
for  which,  in  most  cases,  they  are  best  fitted. 

But  without  further  introduction  we  shall  proceed 
on  the  topics  of  this  chapter. 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS, 

FOR  THE  BODY  PHYSICAL  AND  THE  BODY  LEGISLATIVE. 

AMONG  the  valuable  notes  of  Mr.  Pinion  we  find 

the  following  entry.     It  is  to  be  wished  that  he  had 

been  more  careful  about  giving  dates,  though  in  this 

case  it  is  not  of  very  great  importance,  as  there  will 

(207) 


2O8    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

be  occasion  as  we  proceed,  often  to  quote  from  the 
public  records,  where  accurate  dates  appear.  But 
after  all,  dates  are  not  usually  of  the  substance  of 
the  things  to  which  they  relate. 

"  Ye  Cote,"  says  Mr.  Pinion,  "  did  make  divers 
orders  whereby  to  manifest  theire  aucthoritie,  and  to 
show  fourth  what  priviledges  they  wd  haue  ;  likewise 
to  provide  for  theire  owne  dyot,  drincke  and  lodgen. 
And  manie  othr  things  of  concernment  in  ye  right 
moveing  of  publique  businesses,  did  they  doe." 

It  is  proposed  now  to  give  an  account  of  some  of 
the  quaint  enactments  of  the  Court  on  matters  indi- 
cated by  the  sub-title  placed  above.  It  cannot  be 
doubted  that  so  august  and  powerful  a  body  as  the 
General  Court  would  take  some  special  care  of  their 
own  selves  —  would  see  that  their  wants  were  pro- 
vided for  and  their  dignity  maintained.  Indeed,  it  is 
pertinent  to  ask,  Who  is  to  take  care  of  the  legislature 
if  it  does  not  take  care  of  itself?  At  the  present  time 
the  members  vote  themselves  pay,  according  to  their 
own  estimate  of  their  services,  and  such  estimate,  as 
it  relates  to  a  good  portion  of  them,  is  quite  enough 
to  make  people  stare,  if  indeed  it  does  not  make 
them  do  that  worse  thing,  which  rhymes  with  stare. 
Some  carping  defamers  will  have  it  that  there  are 
instances  in  which,  if  certain  members  were  rewarded 
according  to  their  deserts,  they  would  be  required  to 
pay  money  into  the  treasury  instead  of  taking  it  out. 
So  on  that  score  we  ought  to  keep  our  mouths  shut 
from  any  expression  of  amazement  or  amusement  at 
what  those  venerable  fathers  did. 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  2CK) 

It  appears  to  have  been  difficult  for  some  of  the 
members  to  obtain  board  and  lodging  while  attending 
to  their  duties  in  Boston.  Perhaps  their  credit  was 
not  good ;  or  they  might  have  had  such  voracious 
appetites  as  to  damage  their  reputation  as  boarders. 
But  whatever  the  cause,  it  was  certainly  hard  for  the 
poor  men  to  be  compelled,  under  a  penalty,  to  attend 
the  Court,  and  then  not  be  able  to  obtain  a  meal  or  a 
lodging  place. 

Some,  it  is  true,  could  pass  the  night  in  the  airy 
legislative  room  —  though  the  chinks  and  crevices 
that  made  it  comfortable  in  summer,  made  it  any 
thing  but  comfortable  at  other  seasons  —  and  take 
their  bread  and  lard  and  cold  meat  there  in  the  morn- 
ing. But  then  again,  the  members  began  to  gather 
betimes  in  the  morning,  for  the  sessions,  at  most 
seasons  of  the  year,  commenced  soon  after  daylight. 
By  the  proceedings  of  the  Court,  October  27,  1636, 
it  appears  that  "  Mr  Harlakendon,  Mr  Saltonstall,  and 
Mr  Mayhewe,  being  absent  till  near  9  aclock,  were 
fined  5shs  a  peece"  —  which  shows  how  early  they 
were  at  the  post  of  duty.  And  such  seasonable 
attendance  might  almost  lead  one  to  conclude  that 
by  some  sort  of  retroactive  hocus-pocus,  they  had 
taken  pattern  from  our  modern  legislators. 

Some  of  the  less  favored  members  certainly  did 
grapple  with  their  duties  under  difficulties,  and  were 
occasionally  driven  to  straits  in  which  dignity  was 
fairly  compromised ;  for  unaccommodating  individu- 
als, who  had  been  fortunate  in  having  their  wants 
provided  for,  out  of  sheer  ill-nature  were  for  refusing 
permission  to  others  the  use  of  the  room  as  a  sleeping 

14 


2IO    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

apartment,  and  at  times  were  successful  in  their  un- 
christian efforts. 

There  certainly  was  a  serious  objection  to  having 
it  occupied  as  an  eating  place,  because  the  crumbs 
attracted  an  army  of  rats,  which  no  legislation  could 
bring  under  restraint.  The  nuisance  became  intol- 
erable, till  a  counter  nuisance  was  introduced  for  their 
destruction.  People  of  this  day,  when  civilization  has 
got  the  upper  hand  of  these  pests,  can  have  no  idea 
of  the  extent  to  which  the  rats  propagated,  nor  of  the 
boldness  to  which  they  attained.  They  would  poke 
their  noses  up  the  cracks,  and  gnaw  at  the  uncurried 
leather  shoes  of  the  members,  till  even  the  one  speak- 
ing would  sometimes  have  to  lift  one  foot  and  then 
the  other,  as  if  he  stood  on  hot  iron.  And  they 
would  rant  and  squeal  at  such  a  rate  that  it  became 
necessary  to  raise  the  voice,  at  times,  to  be  under- 
stood ;  to  say  nothing  of  their  occasional  impudent 
attempts  to  stare  the  speaker  himself  out  of  counte- 
nance. 

And  there  is  a  story  that  one  day  as  the  clerk 
stepped  on  a  tilting  board  of  the  floor,  such  a  raven- 
ous crew  of  them  sprang  up  that  some  members  were 
so  frightened  as  to  jump  upon  the  benches  and  hurl 
the  inkhorns  at  them.  And  one  of  the  presiding 
officers,  who  had  a  constitutional  dread  of  such  vermin, 
is  represented  to  have  many  times  sat  with  his  legs 
folded  like  a  tailor,  or  like  the  grand  lama.  The 
legislators  of  this  day  have  good  cause  to  render 
thanks  that  the  day  of  rat  supremacy  has  passed. 

And  the  rats  attracted  snakes.  If  there  is  any 
being  on  earth  that  rejoices  in  rat  diet,  above  a  Chi- 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  211 

nese,  it  is  a  snake.  And  those  graceful  reptiles 
pursued  their  foraging  about  the  premises  in  such 
numbers  as  to  create  a  good  deal  of  alarm. 

But  it  was  remarked  that  a  counter-nuisance  was 
introduced  to  destroy  the  rats.  And  that  was  a  bevy 
of  weasels.  They  made  quick  work  with  both  rats 
and  snakes.  But  they  also  made  quick  work  about 
all  the  hen-roosts  in  the  region  round.  And  they  in 
their  turn  lured  to  the  neighborhood  an  uncounted 
number  of  those  enterprising  animals  whose  fragrant 
exudations  have  given  them  a  name  in  the  world  — 
and  not  a  very  agreeable  one  either.  Weasels  and 
all  disappeared  on  their  advent ;  but  they  burrowed 
in  the  vicinity,  and  for  a  long  time  occasionally 
reminded  the  members  of  their  presence,  in  a  way 
most  natural  to  them  though  not  most  agreeable  to 
those  on  whom  their  favors  were  bestowed.  But 
these  animals  have  a  higher  sense  of  honor  than  most 
of  those  named  and  do  not  appear  to  exercise  their 
powers,  offensive  or  defensive,  in  mere  wantonness. 
Still,  there  appears  to  have  been  for  some  years  a 
little  grave-yard,  back  of  the  Colony  House,  where 
outer  garments  were  buried,  with  wooden  stakes 
denoting  the  proprietorship  of  the  various  deposits, 
so  that  confusion  might  be  avoided  at  the  time  of 
resurrection. 

The  experience  of  Ebenezer  Kerley,  a  Represent- 
ative from  one  of  the  frontier  settlements  may  be 
here  given  as  illustrative  of  the  inconveniences  to 
which  the  early  members  were  frequently  subjected. 
He  was  in  his  day  called  the  rhyming  member,  from 


212    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

his  inveterate  propensity  to  jerk  out  his  crude  ideas 
in  cruder  rhyme. 

And  what  was  even  worse  than  this  rhyming  mania, 
he  fancied  himself  a  wit  —  the  wit  of  the  House. 
There  is  usually  one  in  the  assembly  of  this  stamp, 
who  with  greater  propriety  might  be  called  the  clown. 
He  becomes  the  idol  of  the  fools,  the  laughing-stock 
of  the  wise. 

True  wit,  as  it  sometimes  bubbles  up  during  a  dull 
debate  is  irresistibly  charming,  giving  a  spring  to  the 
sluggish  ideas,  and  enforcing  attention.  It  imparts  a 
refreshing  flavor  to  the  words  of  the  public  speaker 
as  well  as  the  conversationalist.  But  like  the  table 
condiment,  it  requires  discretion  in  the  using.  True 
wits  are  always  modest.  But  what  is  your  professed, 
your  conceited,  your  sham  wit,  your  mere  shyer  of 
double-headed,  brainless  words,  your  wit  of  the  House, 
as  he  commonly  turns  out  ?  He  is  usually  as  deficient 
in  good  sense  and  good  manners  as  a  bear  —  playing 
upon  words,  and  as  likely  as  not  poking  poisoned  fun 
at  his  best  friends.  He  esteems  a  scurvy  joke  above 
the  most  useful  achievement ;  but  is  terribly  chafed 
if  the  joke  turns  to  his  own  discomforture. 

To  his  other  conspicuous  frailties  Mr.  Kerley  added 
the  defiling  habits  of  a  snuff-taker.  But  he  manufac- 
tured his  own  nose-tickler,  which  consisted  simply 
of  the  inside  bark  of  the  black  birch,  dried  and  pow- 
dered. And  by  the  way,  a  beautifully  aromatic  as 
well  as  highly  pungent  preparation  is  thus  provided  — 
much  to  be  preferred  to  any  thing  made  of  tobacco — 
and  one  that  costs  little  or  nothing.  He  took  such 
quantities  that  the  nasal  passage  was  so  obstructed 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  213 

as  to  give  many  of  his  words  such  a  club-footed  pro- 
nunciation as  to  make  them  very  awkward.  For 
instance,  once  when  a  brisk  debate  was  going  on  in 
the  House  touching  the  merits  of  different  breeds 
of  barn-yard  fowls  —  for  the  hen  fever  prevailed  in 
the  Bay  State  at  a  very  early  period  —  some  members 
advocating  the  claims  of  the  blue  legs,  and  some  the 
yellow,  he  blurted  out,  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  after  a 
mournful  attempt  to  compass  a  purifying  sneeze : 

"  I  habd  a  cock  add  hen,  bodth  of  blue  leg ; 
Bud  neidther  ebver  laid  add  egg." 

The  aptitude  at  rhyming  possessed  by  Mr.  Kerley, 
led  him  to  fancy  himself  a  poet,  for  even  such  a  thing 
has  been  known  as  a  person  mistaking  his  rhymes 
for  poetry.  And  this  fancy,  in  its  turn,  led  to  the 
developing  of  other  eccentricities  ;  for  poets  —  espe- 
cially the  counterfeit  —  seem  to  think  it  incumbent 
on  them  to  exhibit  some  irrational  proclivity. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Mr.  Kerley,  by  his 
exceptionable  habits  and  crooked  disposition  had 
rendered  himself  so  far  obnoxious  to  those  who  pro- 
vided board  and  lodging  for  the  members,  that  none 
of  them  cared  to  entertain  him,  so  long  as  plenty 
of  others,  more  to  their  liking,  presented  themselves. 
He  could  procure  his  meals  at  the  house  of  a  shoe- 
maker's widow,  down  the  south  lane.  But  for  a  lodging 
place  —  what  could  he  do  ?  It  was  not  a  time  when 
the  legislative  hall  could  be  devoted  to  such  a  purpose. 
And  lying  out  in  the  vast  wilderness  or  boundless 
contiguity  of  shade  would  be  likely  to  give  him  a  cold, 
if  he  escaped  other  dangers.  He  therefore  heroically 
resolved  on  erecting  a  lodging  place  for  himself.  At 


214    In-  THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

that  period  extemporised .  erections  for  such  purposes 
were  not  uncommon.  In  this  respect  the  beneficial 
example  of  the  Indians  was  followed.  And  at  that 
time  a  man's  ability,  influence  or  dignity  was  not 
measured  by  the  size  or  costliness  of  the  house  he 
dwelt  in. 

The  weather  was  warm,  and  Mr.  Kerley  had  no 
difficulty  in  selecting  a  site.  It  was  a  few  paces 
above  the  high  water  line,  not  far  from  the  foot  of 
Fort  Hill,  and  a  short  distance  seaward  from  a  retired 
cart-way  leading  to  a  little  fishing  station.  The  local- 
ity was  romantic  enough  for  any  poet  of  moderate 
craving.  A  beautiful  growth  of  evergreens  adorned 
the  sides  of  the  hill,  and  on  the  summit  were  stately 
oaks  and  pines.  The  green  islands  and  blue  waters, 
the  glittering  sands  bathed  by  the  white-crested 
waves,  and  the  wind-mills,  swinging  their  giant  arms 
in  the  breeze,  were  features  of  the  picture  presented 
to  the  admiring  gaze  of  Mr.  Kerley  as  he  strode  about 
the  spot  which  had  so  met  his  favor. 

The  question  as  to  what  material  his  erection 
should  be  composed  of  was  not  difficult  of  solution, 
in  view  of  the  abundance  of  green  branches,  drift- 
wood, seaweed,  and  sweet-smelling  ferns  every  where 
at  hand.  Posts  and  rafters  were  soon  in  their  places, 
and  the  interstices  nicely  filled  with  savory  herbage. 
Applying  himself  with  great  industry  during  every 
moment  that  could  be  spared  from  his  public  duties, 
he  was  able,  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  day  of  his  archi- 
tectural labors,  to  pronounce  his  lodge  fit  for  occu- 
pancy. The  sun  had  then  just  sunk  behind  the  hills, 
and  a  gorgeous  twilight  invested  every  thing  with  a 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  215 

dream-like  beauty.  The  sea  birds  were  retiring  to 
their  nightly  repose,  screaming  a  wild  good-night  as 
they  swept  with  curious  eye  over  the  new-made  hut. 

A  cool  breeze  came  sweeping  over  the  water  which 
in  the  fading  light  assumed  the  hue  of  misty  gray ; 
and  Mr.  Kerley,  after  sitting  a  while  at  the  door, 
began  to  feel  an  inconvenient  dampness,  and  drew  up 
within.  Reclining  upon  his  savory  bed,  the  basis 
of  which  was  a  sack  of  corn-husks  mingled  with 
sweet  fern,  and  soothed  by  the  gentle  melody  of  the 
waves,  he  was  soon  lost  in  quiet  slumber,  from  which 
in  due  time  he  merged  into  profound  sleep. 

Now  it  happened  that  on  the  same  evening  a  herd 
of  cows  which  had  been  pasturing  below,  got  belated, 
and  on  their  way  home  came  across  the  unique  erec- 
tion. Cows  are  very  inquisitive  animals,  as  every 
farmer-boy  knows.  And  these  paraded  themselves 
about  the  fabric,  and  stood  for  a  few  moments  with 
their  great  glistening  eyes  intently  fixed  upon  it, 
snuffing  and  sighing,  and  throwing  about  their  tails 
as  if  to  whisk  off  imaginary  swarms  of  flies  upon  their 
quarters  —  sheer  absentmindedness,  as  every  fly  had 
hours  before  ceased  from  troubling  flesh  and  blood  till 
the  dawn  of  another  day.  But  there  stood  the  bovine 
herd.  At  length  a  bold  one  stepped  nearer  and  with 
still  lingering  apprehension  stretched  out  her  nose  in 
a  horizontal  line  till  it  nearly  touched  the  eaves,  and 
then  taking  a  hearty  inspiration,  perceived  that  the 
thing  was  good  to  eat ;  or  at  least  a  portion  of  the 
material  of  which  it  was  composed.  The  discovery 
was  soon  made  known  to  the  others.  A  brief  pause 
took  place,  as  if  for  silent  consideration.  But  cows 


2l6    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

have  remarkably  practical  ideas  of  things.  And  these, 
being  convinced  that  the  matter  could  be  digested  by 
the  stomach  more  satisfactorily  than  by  the  head,  at 
once  set  about  answering  the  demands  of  appetites 
which  had  become  ravenous  by  their  long  walk  and 
abstinence. 

In  a  very  short  time  one  of  them  had  formed  an 
aperture  sufficient  for  the  admission  of  her  horned 
head,  which  she  unceremoniously  thrust  in,  directly 
over  the  bed  of  the  sleeping  legislator.  And  when 
she  opened  her  astonished  eyes  on  the  interior,  she 
from  surprise,  or  fright,  or  perhaps  out  of  pure  mis- 
chief, gave  a  most  unearthly  bellow,  and  at  the  same 
time  withdrew  her  head  with  such  force  as  to  bring 
down  about  half  of  the  roof,  precipitating  a  good  share 
upon  the  very  head  of  the  sleeper. 

Mr.  Kerley,  as  well  he  might  be,  was  frightened 
almost  out  of  his  senses.  He  sprang  to  the  door, 
yelling  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  And  it  was  quite 
edifying  to  observe  with  what  complacency  and  mild 
curiosity  the  animals  viewed  his  antics  and  their  own 
mischief.  Not  a  hoof  was  raised  for  flight  nor  a  tail 
in  chagrin.  With  such  stoical  indifference  did  they 
contemplate  affairs  that  Mr.  Kerley,  who  of  course 
at  once  perceived  the  cause  of  his  alarm,  had  his  ire 
kindled  afresh,  and  assailed  them  with  a  flight  of 
stones,  at  the  same  time  wrathfully  ejaculating : 

"  You  cursed,  sneakindg  clobven-feet, 
How  cambe  you  my  new  houdse  to  eat" 

The  one  which  had  been  most  active"  in  the  mis- 
chief flapped  her  ears  a  little,  as  if  in  a  sort  of  shoo 
fly  defiance  of  the  maledictions  ;  and  most  of  the 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  21  / 

others  kept  their  heads  swinging  to  right  or  left  to 
avoid  the  flight  of  missiles.  But  as  a  rational  man  he 
could  not  avoid  smiling  at  the  comical  occurrence 
and  at  his  own  perturbation,  wisely  arriving  at  the 
conclusion  that  as  one  who  builds  his  house  of  glass 
is  in  danger  of  having  it  broken,  so  one  who  builds 
of  grass  is  in  danger  of  having  it  eaten. 

The  offending  animals  disappeared  and  all  was 
again  still.  For  a  while  the  persecuted  man  sat  on  a 
stone,  considering  whether  it  were  not  better  to  aban- 
don his  new  quarters,  and  if  he  could  not  obtain 
suitable  lodging  somewhere  among  the  inhospitable 
people  of  Boston,  to  take  the  consequences  of  desert- 
ing his  post  of  public  duty  and  returning  home  to  his 
farm.  His  apprehensive  mind  had,  at  that  lone  mid- 
night hour,  begun  to  conjure  up  other  and  more 
terrible  dangers  than  that  which  had  already  over- 
taken him.  He  recalled  the  story  that  he  had  once 
heard  Arrow  John  relate  of  an  enormous  sea-serpent 
which  in  the  time  of  his  grandfather  had  appeared  on 
the  coast  —  so  enormous  and  of  such  strength  that  he 
became  a  constant  plague  to  the  Great  Spirit  himself. 
Sometimes  in  mere  sport  he  would  coil  his  tail  around 
an  island  in  Boston  harbor  and  twitch  it  about  like 
a  mere  bob.  Indeed  it  was  on  a  pleasant  summer 
afternoon,  while  he  was  pursuing  a  pastime  of  this 
kind,  and  had  got  the  islands  dancing  all  about,  that 
the  Great  Spirit  suddenly  came  over  the  northern 
hills,  and  seeing  the  mischief  that  was  going  on, 
seized  a  boulder,  larger  than  a  wigwam,  and  before  he 
was  perceived,  hurled  it  at  the  monster.  It  wounded 
him,  though  not  fatally,  and  in  alarm  he  rushed  off  to 
J 


2l8    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

return  no  more.  But  the  veracious  Indian  added 
thai  one  or  two  of  his  progeny  had  been  seen  timidly 
scouring  the  coast  at  different  times  since. 

Now,  thought  Mr.  Kerley,  if  that  old  serpent  which, 
without  any  doubt,  is  the  devil,  should  happen  this 
way  to-night,  and  undertake  his  wicked  gambols, 
what  chance  would  I  or  my  house  stand.  The  thought 
was  harrowing.  But  yet  he  was  a  man  of  sufficient 
good  common  sense  to  realize  the  absurdity  of  such 
fancies.  And  very  soon,  after  partially  repairing 
damages  and  rewarding  his  courage  with  divers  gen- 
erous pinches  of  snuff,  he  again  threw  himself  down 
on  his  bed,  still  perplexed,  but  not  disheartened.  He 
had  lain  there  a  few  minutes  only,  eyeing  a  twinkling 
star,  through  his  now  mutilated  roof,  when  drowsiness 
once  more  overtook  him,  and  to  that  again  succeeded 
sound  sleep. 

It  happened  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day  that  a 
teamster  passed  down  the  by-road  on  his  way  to  the 
abode  of  an  old  fisherman  whose  daughter  he  was 
sparking ;  and  observing  that  seaweed  had  been  lib- 
erally cast  up  by  a  recent  high  tide,  collected  a  con- 
siderable heap,  a  little  way  on  the  upland,  intending 
to  take  it  on  his  wagon  as  he  returned  at  night.  He 
remained  among  the  jolly  fishermen,  after  leaving  the 
house  of  his  sweetheart,  till  it  was  late,  and  withal 
got  a  little  boosy.  Nevertheless,  he  did  'not  forget 
his  seaweed. 

The  moon  was  just  rising  over  the  sea,  her  great 
fat,  ruddy  face,  beaming  good-naturedly  on  the  quiet 
world,  when  he  hove  in  sight  of  Mr.  Kerley's  lodge, 
which  he  had  not  observed  on  his  way  down.  Mis- 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  2 19 

taking  it  for  his  stack,  he  drove  near  and  dismounted 
for  the  purpose  of  loading.  With  all  his  might,  he 
thrust  in  his  pitchfork,  and  happening  to  strike  be- 
tween two  posts,  the  resistance  was  so  slight  and  the 
impetus  so  great,  that  it  flew  from  his  hand  and 
disappeared.  His  bewildered  senses,  now  became 
more  disordered  still,  under  the  apprehension  that 
some  diabolical  witchery  was  falling  upon  him:  But 
he  had  little  opportunity  for  reflection  as  his  remain- 
ing senses  fairly  took  flight  when  he  heard  in  the 
very  bowels  of  his  heap  of  seaweed,  as  he  still  sup- 
posed it  to  be,  stifled  shrieks  and  execrations.  He 
was  so  overcome  that  he  fell  prone  upon  the  earth. 

Poor  Mr.  Kerley  was,  of  course,  alarmed  beyond 
measure  when  the  murderous  fork  struck  him,  and  as 
soon  as  possible  tore  his  way  into  the  open  air.  He 
continued  his  yells  till  the  teamster  recovered  a  few 
of  his  scattered  faculties  and  set  up  counter  yells. 
And  then  there  was  a  yelling  concert,  with  none  to 
witness,  but  sober  dobbin  and  the  grinning  moon. 
They  bore  their  parts  like  defiant  demons,  neither 
drawing  to  close  quarters.  And  the  old  horse's  ears 
twitched  to  right  and  left,  as  if  they  felt  knocks  too 
hard  to  bear.  But  in  the  cool  night  air  the  passion- 
ate display  began  in  time  to  abate. 

The  moon  was  now  up  broad  above  the  waters  ; 
and  her  beams  were  gently  rocked  upon  the  swells. 
A  furtive  glance  upon  the  serene  picture  had  a  won- 
derful effect  on  the  poetic  nerves  of  Mr.  Kerley.  He 
cast  his  eyes  around,  rather  in  curiosity  than  fear, 
and  was  not  long  in  discovering  in  his  tormentor,  the 
person  of  Jake  Loder,  the  teamster  of  the  tavern.  The 


22O    III.  THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

two  now  met  under  truce.  And  not  much  time  nor 
many  pinches  of  snuff  were  consumed  before  an 
amicable  understanding  was  arrived  at. 

But  Mr.  Kerley  had  been  seriously  injured  by  the 
pitchfork.  As  he  attempted  to  walk,  in  an  agony 
of  pain  he  cried  out : 

"  O,  Jagob,  Jagob  !  my  poor  foodt, 
Is  stabbed  add  jabbed  add  scored  add  cudt ! " 

They  sat  down  on  a  sand  heap  and  by  the  light 
of  the  moon  examined  the  wounded  member.  It  was 
grievously  injured,  and  presently  became  so  swollen 
that  he  could  not  walk.  The  cart  was  put  in  requisi- 
tion to  transport  him  to  the  tavern,  where,  of  course, 
his  misfortune  would  gain  him  an  entrance. 

He  was  kindly  received,  and  every  attention  paid 
to  the  necessities  of  his  case.  The  other  members 
of  the  Court  were  unwearied  in  their  endeavors  for 
his  relief  and  comfort.  And  the  best  surgeon  of  the 
town  was  in  constant  attendance.  But  tetanus  super- 
vened, and  nothing  could  save  him.  He  bore  his 
sufferings  with  exemplary  resignation.  And  when  the 
sympathetic  doctor  leaned  over  him,  as  he  struggled 
in  his  last  attempts  at  articulation,  and  motioned  for 
a  final  smell  of  his  adored  snuff,  only  these  disjointed 
words  could  be  caught : 

"  O,  Jagob,  Jagob  !   .  .  .  .    h-a-r-d   d-e-a-d-t-h  ! 
....    1-a-d-s-t   r-h-y-m-e,    1-a-d-s-t   b-r-e-a-d-t-h ! " 

And  so  died  Mr.  Kerley ;  a  victim  to  his  legislative 
duties  and  the  inhospitality  of  the  people  of  Boston. 
No  wonder  that  after  such  an  occurrence  the  Court 
took  occasion  to  see  that  suitable  accommodations 
were  provided  for  its  members. 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  221 

Warm  discussions  were  held  in  the  Court  on  this 
question  of  board  and  lodging  for  the  members.  The 
whole  subject  was  debated,  and  sundry  definite  pro- 
positions brought  forward,  from  time  to  time,  for  the 
difficulties  existed  during  quite  a  number  of  years. 

In  November,  1654,  the  Court  took  the  following 
action  in  the  matter  of  victuals  and  drink : 

"Whereas  it  is  judged  most  comly,  convenient  and 
conduceable  to  the  dispatch  of  publicke  service  that 
the  Deputyes  of  ye  Gen11  Court  should  dyett  together, 
especially  at  dynner,  it  is  therefore  ordered,  that  the 
Deputyes  of  the  Gen11  Court,  the  next  ensuing  yeare, 
viz*,  1655,  shall  all  be  provided  for  at  ye  Shipp  Tauerne, 
at  Boston,  in  respect  of  dynner,  and  yl  they  shall  all 
accordingly  dyne  together,  and  that  Lieut.  Phillips, 
the  keeper  of  sd  taverne  shalbe  payd  for  ye  same  by 
the  Treasurer  for  the  tyme  being,  by  discounting  the 
same  in  the  custome  of  wyne  payable  by  the  sd  Lieut. 
Phillipps  and  that  the  Treasurer  shalbe  repayed  by 
the  several  townes,  according  to  the  charges  of  their 
respective  deputies,  with  their  next  country  rate,  and 
in  the  same  kind  of  payment ;  and  it  is  further  or- 
dered, for  the  prevention  of  vnsettlednes  and  other 
distractions  for  the  future,  that  the  Deputyes  of  the 
Gen11  Court  shall  yearly  and  every  yeare,  from  tyme 
to  tyme,  before  the  dissolueing  of  the  last  session 
thereof,  accordingly  take  some  effectuall  course  in 
this  case  in  such  sort  as  to  themselves  shall  seeme 
best,  that  the  Deputyes  of  the  next  succeeding  Court 
may  not  be  occasioned  to  seeke  theire  own  settlem1  in 
this  case,  and  so  retard  publick  service ;  and  its 


222    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

further  ordered  that  the  Deputyes  shall  giue  notice 
hereof  to  the  Deputs  that  shalbe  chosen  for  the  suc- 
ceeding yeare  from  time  to  time.  This  is  past  as  an 
order  respecting  the  Howse  of  Deputies. 

"  WM  TORREY,  Cleric." 

Immediately  following  the  above,  on  the  Court 
Records,  is  this : 

"  An  agreement  made  with  Lieut.  Phillips,  by  the 
Deputies  now  assembled  in  Gen11  Court,  that  the 
Deputies  of  the  next  Court  of  Election  shall  sitt  in 
the  new  court  chamber,  and  be  dyeted  wth  breakfast, 
dynner,  and  supper,  wth  wine  and  beere  betweene 
meales,  wth  fire  and  beds,  at  the  rate  of  three  shillings 
per  day,  so  many  as  take  all  their  dyet  as  aforesd  at 
the  sd  howse,  but  such  as  only  dyne  and  not  supp,  to 
pay  eyghteen  pence  for  their  dynners  with  wine  and 
beere  betwixt  meales  ;  but  by  wine  is  intended  a 
cupp  each  man  at  dynner  and  supper,  and  no  more." 

And  then  is  added  : 

"  Lieut.  Phillips  did  accept  of  this,  and  agreed 
thereto,  wlh  this  proviso,  that  only  such  as  had  all 
their  dyet  there  should  haue  beere  betweene  meales, 
and  also  that  vppon  extraordinary  occasion  he  might 
haue  the  vse  of  the  great  court  chamber. 

"  Subscribed  by         WM  PHILLIPS." 

This  contract,  it  will  be  observed,  appears  among 
the  Court  Records  for  November,  1654.  Anterior 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  223 

to  that,  however,  the  Court  had  taken  some  measures 
to  supply  the  needs  of  the  hungry  and  thirsty  mem- 
bers. On  the  1 4th  of  May,  1645,  James  Penn  was 
licensed  to  sell  liquor  under  limitation  as  follows  : 

"  James  Penn  is  licensed  to  draw  wine  for  so  long 
time  as  hee  kepes  inftainem1  for  ye  Cort  in  Boston, 
eithr  at  ye  house  wr  ye  Cot  now  sits  or  wr  they  shall 
sit  hereaff." 

As  elsewhere  remarked,  a  license  to  "  draw  wine," 
was  a  general  license  to  sell  spirituous  liquors  — 
the  term  wine  being  used  in  a  generic  sense.  And 
what  would  the  good  prohibitionists  of  our  time  say, 
if  the  General  Court  should  now  grant  such  a  license. 
The  provisions  of  the  contract  with  the  tavern  keeper 
are  simple  and  comprehensive  and  the  clauses  relating 
to  strong  drinks  explicit  Those  were  not  days  of  hot 
coffee  and  tea,  of  cool  lemonade  and  arctic  soda. 

It  was  very  convenient  for  the  members  to  have 
their  tavern  bills  paid  from  the  public  treasury ;  and 
there  appears  nothing  to  indicate  that  undue  advan- 
tage was  taken  of  the  opportunities  afforded  to  do  a 
little  dishonest  plucking.  A  sample  or  two  of  the 
economy  and  faithfulness  of  the  public  officers,  may 
properly  be  given  here.  From  the  vouchers  filed 
away  among  the  records  in  the  custody  of  the  clerk 
of  the  courts,  at  Salem,  we  take  the  following.  They 
relate  to  charges  for  entertainment  furnished  certain 
dignitaries  who  paused  for  rest  and  refreshment  at 
the  tavern  of  Joseph  Armitage,  which  was  situated  in 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Saugus,  on  tbe  great  road 


224         IIL      THE   WORKERS   AND   THEIR   WORKS. 

from    Boston    to   the  eastern   settlements,    and  just 
about  mid-way  between  the  capital  and  Salem  : 

"  the  gouerners  Expences  from  the  Coart  of  elec- 
tion, 1651,  till  the  end  of  October,  1651  :  to  bear  & 
cacks  [beer  and  cakes]  6d. ;  bear  and  cacks  to  him- 
self and  som  other  gentlemen,  is.  2d. ;  bear  and 
cacks  with  Mr  Downing,  is.  6d. ;  bear  &  a  cack, 
6d. 3 s.  Set" 

"  to  the  sargents  from  the  end  of  the  Coart  of  elec- 
tion, 165 1,  till  the  end  of  October,  165 1,  bear  &  cacks, 
is.  2d. ;  for  vittals,  beear  &  logen,  $s.  ;  to  Benjamin 
Scarlet,  the  gouerners  man,  %d. ;  bear  &  vitells,  2s. ; 
to  the  Sargents,  is.  gd. ;  beear  and  cacks,  is.;  to  a 
man  that  Caried  a  leter  to  warne  a  Court  about  the 
duchman,  is.  6d. ;  to  the  Sargents,  is.  2d. i^s.  ^d." 

"  Mr  Auditor,  I  pray  you  give  a  note  to  Mr  Treas- 
urer, for  the  payment  of  i?s.  lid.  according  to  these 
two  bills  of  Joseph  Armitage.  Jo.  ENDECOTT. 

"Dated  the  ;th  of  the  IIth  mo.  1651." 

And  here  is  another,  under  the  hand  of  Governor 
Bradstreet : 

"  Due  to  goodman  Armitage  for  beare  &  wyne  att 
severall  times  as  I  came  by  in  the  space  of  aboute  3 
yeares,  43.  ^d.  May  15th,  1649.  More  for  my  man 
&  horse,  as  hee  returned  home  the  last  yeare  when  I 
was  a  Commissioner,  hee  being  deteyned  a  sabboath 
day,  6s.  8d.  SIMON  BRADSTREETE." 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  22$ 

Think  of  a  Governor  of  this  day,  travelling  in  the 
state  here  indicated  —  even  on  foot,  most  of  the  time. 
The  roads  were  stony  and  encumbered  with  stumps, 
so  that  carriages  could  hardly  have  been  used  had  they 
been  owned  ;  though  some  rode  a  little  on  horse-back. 
We  of  this  boastful  generation,  might  gain  much  by  a 
calm  retrospect  of  the  honest  simplicity  of  the  times 
when  such  noble  pioneers  of  civilization  as  Endicott 
and  Bradstreet  occupied  our  chair  gubernatorial. 

No  better  place  than  this,  it  is  likely,  will  be  pre- 
sented for  the  introduction  of  a  few  facts  connected 
with  Mr.  Armitage  and  his  celebrated  tavern.  The 
most  eminent  personages  were  accustomed  to  partake 
of  his  hospitalities,  and  his  name  was  known  far  and 
near.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Court  after  the  representation  by  deputies  was 
established.  Perhaps  he  got  excused  on  account  of 
his  calling,  which  was  deemed  one  of  more  than 
ordinary  public  importance.  He  came  over  at  a  very 
early  period  —  among  the  first  immigrants  —  and  his 
tavern  was  one  of  the  first  opened. 

As  a  matter  of  historical  interest  we  will  give  some 
account  of  "ye  young  Spanyard,"  alluded  to  in  the 
following  Court  order,  which,  according  to  Mr.  Pinion, 
was  passed  on  the  I4th  of  June,  1642  : 

"  In  ye  Genrall  Cote  itt  was  this  day  ordered,  on 
mocon  of  ye  membr  from  Rocksberry,  yl  Goodman 
Armittage  bee  caled  to  giue  account  of  ye  young 
Spanyard  att  his  hows.  And  likewise  take  heed  that 
his  dafter  Mary  com  nott  soe  mch  in  his  companie." 
J*  15 


226    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

This  legislative  call  was  probably  made  under  the 
apprehension  that  wherever  a  Spaniard  was  found 
mischief  was  brewing ;  for  the  name  might  almost 
be  said  to  have  been  at  that  time  simply  another  for 
freebooter.  It  was  a  time  when  great  havoc  was 
made  in  the  newly  traversed  American  waters  by  the 
bucaneers.  And  though  those  desperate  rovers  were, 
to  a  great  extent,  English,  French,  and  Portuguese, 
yet  the  Spaniards  had  to  bear  the  chief  odium. 

The  richly  laden  galleons  that  bore  the  treasures 
of  southern  America,  were  prizes  but  too  tempting 
to  the  old  piratical  adventurers.  And  piracy  was  not 
then  viewed  in  the  light  that  it  now  is,  by  the  civilized 
world.  The  wicked  old  idea  that  he  who  is  not  of  my 
country  is  my  alien  enemy,  and  it  is  a  meritorious 
act  in  me  to  despoil  and  destroy  him,  to  some  extent 
at  least  lingered  not  only  in  the  minds  of  the  adven- 
turers themselves,  but  in  the  jurisprudence  of  the 
nations.  And  the  bucaneers  became  invested  with 
a  sort  of  romantic  drapery  and  pseudo-heroism. 

These  freebooters  were  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
form  little  armies,  when  they  landed,  as  they  some- 
times did,  to  attack  even  fortified  settlements.  And 
when  on  the  sea,  they  hunted  in  such  numbers,  were 
so  thoroughly  drilled,  and  so  well  provided  with  arms 
and  ammunition,  and  withal  so  desperately  valorous  — 
for  if  overcome  there  was  no  hope  of  quarter  —  that 
they  were  capable  of  striking  terror  into  almost  any 
force  that  could  be  sent  to  rid  the  seas  of  their  pres- 
ence. There  was,  indeed,  so  little  to  be  apprehended 
from  the  weak  naval  armaments  of  that  time,  that  the 
pirates  pursued  their  sanguinary  occupation  with  but 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  22/ 

slight  danger  of  capture  and  with  almost  complete 
certainty  of  securing  a  glut  of  gold. 

Upon  the  coast  of  New  England  the  freebooters 
occasionally  appeared  and  excited  intense  alarm.  But 
it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  they  came  here  for 
purposes  of  robbery,  as  the  settlers,  who,  for  the  most 
part,  literally  lived  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow,  had  little 
to  excite  their  cupidity.  Now  and  then,  it  is  true,  a 
ship  might  have  been  fallen  in  with,  but  it  would 
probably  be  found  to  contain  nothing  more  than 
supplies  for  the  most  common  wants  of  the  colonists. 
The  chief  object  of  the  pirates,  when  they  appeared 
in  our  waters,  it  has  been  supposed,  was  for  the 
purpose  of  depositing  their  ill-gotten  treasures,  by 
burying  or  otherwise,  to  be  reclaimed  as  the  future 
might  determine. 

The  following  order,  as  well  as  any  thing  that  could 
be  presented,  shows  the  state  of  alarm  among  the 
settlers.  What  Major  Gibbons  found  the  ship  to  be, 
does  not  appear.  Other  similar  orders  seem  to  have 
been  passed  about  that  period : 

"  Itt  is  ordered,  ye  Major  Edward  Gibbons  shall 
take  order  to  send  two  shallops  furnished  wth  men, 
to  goe,  according  to  ye  Courts  appointment,  for  y* 
discovery  of  what  ye  shipp  y*  lyeth  hovering  about 
these  coasts  is,  and  whence,  &c. ;  the  chardges  to  be 
defrayed  out  of  y6  custome  of  wyne."  [Court  Records, 
May  14,  1645. 

The  bucaneers  were  as  perfect  outlaws  as  a  dark 
age  has  ever  produced.  Human  life  to  them  seemed 


228         III.      THE   WORKERS   AND   THEIR   WORKS. 

of  no  account.  They  trod  the  gory  deck,  and  heard 
the  groans  of  imploring  and  expiring  innocence  as 
void  of  any  emotion  of  pity  as  the  billows  that  bore 
them  on.  And  they  gazed  upon  the  rifled  ship  as 
the  devouring  flames  sped  over  her,  or  upon  the 
smouldering  ruins  of  the  sacked  town,  with  as  much 
complacency  as  upon  the  distant  smoking  mountain 
top. 

Sometimes,  when  weary  of  the  seas,  these  pirates 
would  make  secret  lodgments  for  rest,  in  some  seques- 
tered place  in  the  woods  and  rocky  wastes.  For  this 
purpose,  in  given  cases,  perhaps,  the  coast  of  New 
England  was  visited,  for  here  they  might  remain  in 
comparative  safety.  And  it  is  a  well  attested  fact 
that  there  were  found  among  the  colonists  themselves, 
those  who,  for  a  consideration,  were  willing  so  far  to 
make  merchandize  of  their  consciences  as  to  supply 
their  wants  and  warn  them  of  approaching  danger. 

And  by  the  way,  according  to  the  History  of  Lynn, 
tradition  locates  a  horde  of  these  miscreants  in  a  wild 
and  lonely  glen  deep  in  the  woods,  within  about  a 
mile  of  the  house  of  Mr.  Armitage.  And  the  reader 
has,  very  likely,  heard  of  the  romantic  locality  in  Lynn 
woods,  known  as  Dungeon  Rock,  or  Pirates'  Cave. 
It  is  there  that  —  under  alleged  spiritual  direction  — 
men  have  been,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  laboriously 
digging,  yea,  blasting  down  in  solid  greenstone  in 
search  of  hidden  treasure  deposited  by  the  unholy 
hands  of  freebooters  about  the  period  to  which  our 
present  remarks  relate.  The  traditions  connect  the 
Pirates'  Glen  with  the  Dungeon  Rock.  And  some 
will,  without  doubt,  in  their  minds  connect  the  young 


WHOLESOME  PROVISIONS.  22Q 

Spaniard  of  whom  we  are  about  to  speak,  with  both, 
notwithstanding  some  discrepancy  in  dates,  if  the  tra- 
ditions are  to  be  relied  on  as  to  exact  time,  and  not- 
withstanding the  stated  cause  of  his  being  here. 

The  little  tavern  of  Mr.  Armitage  had  a  ponderous 
sign  swinging  majestically  from  the  gnarled  old  tree 
in  front,  proclaiming  it  to  be  the  "  Blew  Ankor ; " 
which  name  was  further  verified  by  the  representa- 
tion of  an  anchor  in  sky  blue  on  a  field  of  flaming 
red  ;  a  display  by  which  the  ambitious  colonial  artist 
gave  so  much  satisfaction  that  the  landlord  whenever 
he  came  that  way  made  him  welcome  to  an  overflow- 
ing mug  of  his  best. 

The  fact  of  the  young  Spaniard  being  here  was 
known  to  the  Court  soon  after  his  arrival.  Had  any 
desire  for  concealment  existed,  it  could  not  well  have 
availed,  so  many  of  the  members  being  accustomed 
to  pause  for  refreshment  and  familiarly  loiter  about 
the  hospitable  precincts.  Mr.  Armitage  was  unable 
to  give  any  account  of  him  further  than  that  he  was 
courteous  and  well-behaved,  and  had  plenty  of  money. 
And  what  more  does  a  discreet  landlord  care  to  know 
concerning  his  guest  ?  He  had  made  no  intima- 
tion as  to  the  object  of  his  coming,  nor  the  proposed 
length  of  his  stay  ;  neither  had  he  stated  whence  he 
came  or  whither  he  was  going. 

The  jealous  guardians  of  the  public  weal  had,  in  an 
informal  way,  before  passing  the  order,  been  consid- 
ering the  matter,  and  perhaps  felt  some  delicacy  about 
interfering  arbitrarily  with  the  affairs  of  Mr.  Armit- 
age who  had  such  good  opportunities  to  retaliate  for 
what  he  might  receive  as  insult. 


230    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

There  is  nothing  on  the  records  to  show  what 
response  the  order  elicited.  But  it  is  very  certain 
that  there  was  no  further  pursuit  by  the  Court.  And 
we  shall  proceed  to  give  a  concise  account  of  this 
young  Spaniard  whose  brief  career  forms  rather  an 
interesting  as  well  as  romantic  episode.  It  will  per- 
haps be  deemed  somewhat  trespassing  on  the  rules 
of  artistic  composition  to  so  introduce  it ;  but  yet 
we  shall  venture.  It  might  be  given  in  the  form  of  a 
note,  to  be  sure,  but  notes  are  awkward  things,  and 
as  they  must,  to  have  any  virtue,  be  read  at  the  point 
of  reference,  there  seems  no  earthly  reason  why  they 
should  not  in  one  way  or  another  be  incorporated  with 
the  text,  instead  of  compelling  the  weary  and  some- 
times puzzled  eye  to  wander  back  and  forth.  Occa- 
sionally notes  are  undeniably  necessary.  But  they 
are  too  often  such  pets  of  authors  that  they  become 
pests  of  readers.  They,  in  short,  as  now  most  gener- 
ally employed,  appear  rather  as  objects  of  fashion 
than  necessity  or  convenience. 

People  naturally  wondered,  as  time  wore  on,  what 
could  have  brought  this  young  man  hither.  He  was 
evidently  well  educated  and  accustomed  to  refined 
society.  His  manners  were  genial,  and  it  was  quite 
apparent  that  his  means  were  far  from  limited,  though 
he  made  no  ostentatious  display.  The  pieces  of  gold 
which  he  put  in  circulation,  often  in  the  way  of 
charity  —  for  one  of  his  chief  employments  seemed 
to  be  to  search  out  the  destitute  and  forlorn  for  the 
purpose  of  ministering  to  their  necessities  —  were 
full  enough,  in  some  sordid  minds,  to  subject  him 
to  suspicion.  But  his  whole  observable  course  was 


WHOLESOME  PROVISIONS.  23! 

so  marked  with  undeviating  rectitude,  his  kindlier 
sympathies  were  so  alert,  and  his  manners  so  attrac- 
tive, that  he  charmed  almost  every  one  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact. 

He  spoke  English  indifferently,  but  yet  had  the 
faculty,  as  if  by  a  sort  of  magnetism,  of  readily  making 
himself  understood.  He  was  fond  of  music,  and  often 
sang  the  stirring  songs  of  his  native  land  —  the  lays 
of  the  troubadours  and  the  canzonets  of  knight- 
errantry  —  to  the  little  assemblages  of  young  neigh- 
bors in  the  parlor  at  the  Anchor ;  always,  however, 
on  the  condition  that  in  return  he  should  be  favored 
with  one  of  the  quaint  colonial  ballads.  Still,  it  was 
evident,  from  all  his  conduct,  that  there  was  a  deep 
disturbing  power  in  his  mind.  He  seemed  to  have 
come  in  search  of  something  that  he  was  anxious  yet 
dreaded  to  find.  On  many  a  moonlight  evening  he 
was  abroad  till  near  midnight.  And  benighted  towns- 
men sometimes  met  him  walking  slowly  along  the 
lonely  roads  or  upon  the  distant  beaches.  The  sigh- 
ing of  the  forest  and  the  murmuring  of  the  sea, 
appeared  to  have  a  peculiar  attraction  for  him. 

But  the  Court  order,  in  connection  with  this  young 
man,  speaks  of  Mr.  Armitage's  daughter  Mary.  And 
what  of  her  ?  The  person  alluded  to  was  not  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  worthy  yeoman,  but  a  supposed  orphan, 
whom  he  had  adopted  in  early  childhood,  and  whose 
parentage  was  entirely  unknown.  He  had  been  very 
kind  to  her,  and  she  had  well  repaid  his  kindness  in 
every  way  that  affection  could  suggest.  She  is  repre- 
sented to  have  grown  up  into  a  really  sweet  creature ; 
lively,  intelligent,  and  full  of  love  for  all  the  world ; 


232    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

her  kind  heart  and  genial  manners  making  her  a 
welcome  visitor  at  every  village  fireside.  But  above 
all,  her  ready  sympathy  for  those  in  affliction  and 
instinctive  discernment  between  the  pains  of  body 
and  mind,  with  her  apt  expedients  for  relief,  so  cor- 
dially proffered,  drew  around  her  the  most  endearing 
attachments. 

But  with  true  maidenly  spirit  she  resented  that 
part  of  the  Court  order  which  warned  Mr.  Armitage 
against  allowing  her  to  come  so  much  in  the  company 
of  his  guest.  And  were  it  not  for  the  natural  warmth 
of  her  sympathies,  it  might  be  concluded  that  the 
very  prohibition  itself,  did  a  good  deal  to  induce  her 
to  be  the  more  sedulous  in  her  endeavors  to 'render 
his  sojourn  agreeable  —  so  sensitive  is  the  virtuous 
young  mind  touching  even  the  remotest  imputation 
upon  its  honor.  But  whatever  may  be  our  reasoning 
the  young  man  at  least  seems  to  have  had  no  cause 
to  complain  of  the  order. 

Many  and  many  a  stormy  evening  found  the  two 
seated  in  the  cozy  little  parlor,  before  a  blazing  fire, 
engaged  in  some  innocent  game  or  interchanging 
agreeable  reminiscences.  But  to  her  friends,  Mary 
early  declared  her  conviction  that  some  great  sorrow 
was  preying  upon  him. 

Occasionally  the  young  man  would  journey  off  to  a 
distance,  when  the  weather  was  propitious  ;  but  was 
never  communicative  as  to  the  object  of  his  excursions. 
During  one  of  his  absences  he  fell  in  with  Arrow 
John.  And  the  two  became  such  fast  friends  that  the 
chief  called  to  visit  him  at  the  tavern  whenever  he 
passed  that  way.  The  rude  bar-room  crew  seemed 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  233 

at  first  disposed  to  banter  and  tease  the  lordly  Indian. 
But  they  soon  found  that  such  experiments  were  likely 
to  prove  unprofitable  to  themselves  ;  for  no  sooner 
did  he  comprehend  their  purpose  than  one  of  them, 
a  little  monkey-faced  tailor,  found  himself  plunged 
over  head  and  ears  in  the  tub  of  blue  dye  that  stood 
in  the  chimney  corner.  And  as  he  came  out,  body 
and  raiment  all  dripping  with  the  deep  blue  liquid, 
he  was  saluted  by  an  unctuous  grunt  and  the  ejacula- 
tion, "  Ugh  !  Nippy  !  What  for  you  plague  Indian  I 
Indian  make  you  dam  sore  !  Ugh  !  Swear  much ! " 

After  that  he  was  treated  with  all  due  deference. 
And  the  many  generous  and  companionable  qualities 
that  he  exhibited  soon  won  for  him  the  attachment  of 
the  grossest  of  them.  He  presently  found  no  occasion 
to  make  Nippy  or  any  other  of  them  sore.  And 
many  a  social  pipe  did  he  smoke  in  that  dingy  little 
tap-room,  after  the  apparent  object  of  his  call  had 
been  accomplished. 

Anon  Sunny  Wave  came  with  her  sturdy  father,  by 
special  invitation  of  Mary,  who  had  seen  her  before. 
And  she  appeared  decked  out  in  all  her  forest  finery, 
as  if  fully  aware  of  the  influence  of  first  impressions. 
Her  coy  ways,  natural  brightness  and  amiability,  soon 
secured  for  her  an  invariable  welcome.  With  Mary 
she  was  immediately  in  unrestrained  intimacy.  And 
her  companionship  was  sought  by  all  the  young  folk 
of  the  neighborhood,  she  was  always  so  ready  for  a 
romp  in  the  fields,  in  the  woods,  or  on  the  sea-shore. 
She  seemed  instinctively  to  discern  the  way  through 
the  most  intricate  forest  maze,  and  did  not  appear  to 
possess  the  slightest  fear  of  any  of  the  objects  of 


234    m-   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

terror  that  beset  the  path  of  the  wanderer  amid 
nature's  untamed  scenes.  If  a  rattlesnake  crossed 
her  path,  she  most  likely,  instead  of  screaming  or 
attempting  to  avoid  it,  would  give  chase  or  tantalize 
it  by  shouts  and  gentle  assaults.  Indeed,  during  one 
of  the  first  rambles  she  took  with  Mary,  she  horrified 
her  companion  by  seizing  the  tail  of  a  black  snake,  as 
it  protruded  from  beneath  a  rock,  gaily  whisking  out 
the  bewildered  reptile — who,  had  he  stood  upright  on 
his  tail,  would  have  been  taller  than  herself — and  after 
giving  him  a  few  airy  turns  above  her  head,  shooting 
him  off  among  the  bushes,  laughing  immoderately  at 
the  fright  she  occasioned. 

She  likewise  delighted  in  aquatic  sports.  And  the 
picturesque  grove-zoned  pond  that  lay  within  a  mile  or 
two  of  the  tavern,  furnished  a  delightful  field  for  the 
display  of  her  accomplishments.  A  little  party  being 
once  on  the  margin,  a  cluster  of  lilies  was  descried  at 
some  distance  from  the  shore,  and  the  young  men 
were  challenged  by  the  girls  to  gather  them.  They 
sprang  for  the  canoe ;  but  Sunny  Wave  dove  right 
down  from  the  rock  on  which  they  sat,  and  with 
perfect  ease  out-swam  the  boat.  She  gathered  the 
lilies,  diving  deeply  for  the  long  stems,  and  as  the 
boat  approached,  turned  and  threw  them  in.  Then 
she  coyly  led  them  on  a  brisk  chase  over  the  water, 
till  the  opposite  shore  was  gained  ;  when,  turning 
upon  them  with  a  shout  of  triumph,  she  disappeared 
in  the  woods.  Mr.  Pinion  seems  to  have  been  quite 
fascinated  by  her  prowess.  "  She  could  sweme,"  says 
he,  "  like  a  very  ducke  ;  and  dryve  a  boate  equall  to 
anie  man,  woman,  or  ffisherman." 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  235 

She  was,  in  short, ..  highly  proficient  in  all  the 
accomplishments  of  forest  life,  and  dexterous  in  all 
the  maidenly  sports.  And  she  could  form  as  beautiful 
ornaments  from  shells  and  feathers  and  autumn  leaves, 
as  any  girl  in  the  Colony,  and  weave  as  beautiful 
baskets  from  rushes  and  withes  and  bark  as  any 
of  her  tribe  —  could  climb  a  tree  with  the  agility 
of  a  young  bear  ;  and  if  need  be  remain  all  night  in 
the  branches.  But  yet  there  was  a  delicacy  and 
native  grace  and  refinement  in  her  manners,  a  gen- 
tleness in  her  disposition  and  purity  in  her  concep- 
tions, that  appeared  in  marked  contrast  with  the 
savage  scenes  in  which  she  had  been  nurtured. 

She  was  a  genuine  child  of  nature ;  and  loved  to 
worship  in  the  great  temple  not  made  with  hands ; 
would  sit  for  hours  by  the  placid  lake,  watching  the 
gentle  ripples,  or  upon  the  beetling  cliff  by  the  ocean 
shore,  watching  the  wildly  mounting  surges  as  the 
bellowing  storm  swept  by ;  upon  the  mossy  rock  in 
the  shadowy  woods,  a  solitary  devotee,  in  the  quietude 
of  the  summer  twilight  or  the  awful  gloom  of  the 
thunder-gust  —  never  seeming  to  entertain  an  idea 
of  personal  peril.  And  the  discerning  Mr.  Eliot  often 
spoke  of  the  strong  religious  element  of  her  character ; 
which,  however,  he  found  it  very  difficult  to  mould 
into  puritanical  form. 

The  Spanish  youth  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Armitage, 
seemed  to  derive  much  gratification  and  real  comfort 
from  the  visits  of  Arrow  John  and  his  daughter  ;  and 
never  appeared  to  tire  in  his  inquiries  about  their 
people  and  modes  of  life.  And  the  chief  was  intel- 
ligent enough  to  give  much  curious  and  reliable 


236    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

information  ;  though  the  marvelous  stories  that  he 
sometimes  soberly  interwove,  on  the  authority  of 
his  grandfather  —  like  that  about  the  sea-serpent's 
coiling  his  tail  around  the  islands  in  Boston  harbor, 
and  sportively  twitching  them  about  —  were,  naturally 
received  as  rather  significant  of  his  credulity  than 
his  discernment.  They  became  warm  friends.  And 
it  was  surmised  that  some  of  the  young  man's  later 
absences  were  occupied  in  excursions  to  their  forest 
home.  Gossips  even  dared  to  darkly  insinuate  that 
a  sort  of  flirtation  had  commenced  between  him  and 
Sunny  Wave. 

Thus  things  passed  on  till  later  autumn.  And  now 
the  stranger  seemed  to  have  found  what  he  had  so 
long  sought ;  and  a  deeper  gloom  settled  over  his 
spirits.  He  was  at  about  this  time  prostrated  by  a 
severe  febrile  attack.  The  good  people  at  the  Anchor 
were  sedulous  in  their  endeavors  to  supply  his  wants 
and  relieve  his  pains.  And,  as  the  godly  minister 
more  than  once  declared,  it  was  delightful  to  behold 
his  patient  endurance.  And  had  he  not  held,  as  a 
most  sacred  treasure,  a  little  golden  crucifix,  which 
he  was  accustomed  to  gaze  upon  with  tearful  eyes  and 
sometimes  fervently  kiss,  the  worthy  man  might  even 
have  believed  his  heart  was  truly  sanctified.  The 
gentle  Mary  was  never  weary  in  her  kind  offices, 
and  had  he  been  an  only  brother,  could  not  have 
done  more. 

Arrow  John  came  as  often  as  he  could,  and  always 
brought  some  present  of  savory  game,  or  some  unctu- 
ous concoction  of  his  Indian  doctor ;  and  if  desired 
would  sit  an  hour  or  two  relating  the  wonderful  things 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  237 

which  had  happened  in  the  time  of  that  grandfather 
of  his  who  seemed  to  be  rather  an  ambiguous  person- 
age who  flourished  at  a  period  indefinitely  remote. 

Sunny  Wave  usually  came  with  her  father,  and 
often  alone,  and  always  brought  some  simple  offering ; 
a  bunch  of  forest  flowers,  if  any  were  to  be  found  ;  or 
a  basket  of  nuts  of  her  own  gathering ;  or  perhaps 
some  aromatic  root  or  herb,  reputed  useful  for  the 
sick. 

As  the  youth  became  relieved  from  the  fiercer 
intervals  of  disease,  Mary  would  sit  and  read  to  him  ;  • 
and  when  he  became  weary  of  that  thought-demanding 
recreation,  would  endeavor  to  amuse  him  by  her  sto- 
ries of  colonial  life ;  leaving  it  for  her  father,  as  she 
affectionately  called  Mr.  Armitage,  to  retail  what 
might  be  interesting  of  the  bar-room  gossip.  It  was 
her  quiet  hand  that  made  every  thing  in  the  sick  room 
so  neat  and  comfortable  ;  that  prepared  the  medicine 
and  smoothed  the  pillow ;  that  so  carefully  excluded 
the  fumes  and  uncouth  noises  that  ascended  from 
the  bar-room  ;  that  raised  the  window  on  a  pleasant 
day,  to  admit  the  invigorating  air.  She  performed,  in 
short,  with  skillful  hand,  the  many  little  acts  so  sooth- 
ing to  the  sick,  so  comforting  to  the  troubled  mind. 

It  was  now  Christmas-tide.  And  the  young  man, 
who  had  for  some  time  given  evidence  of  convales- 
cence, seemed  fast  attaining  his  former  health.  At 
his  request,  Mary,  by  the  efficient  aid  of  Sunny  Wave, 
had  neatly  decorated  the  room  with  glossy  hemlock 
boughs  and  curling  evergreen  ;  and  notwithstanding 
the  warm  opposition  of  the  pious  neighbors  and  of  the 
grieved  village  minister,  had  with  her  own  hand  made 


238    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

a  noble  Christmas-pie,  which  then  appeared  in  its 
fair  proportions  smiling  upon  the  table. 

It  was  a  tempestuous  evening,  and  the  three  were 
gathered  about  the  blazing  hearth,  for  the  Indian  girl 
had  been  persuaded  to  remain  till  morning,  her  father 
having  given  his  consent,  as  he  left,  about  night-fall. 
The  youth's  feelings  were  more  than  ordinarily  soft- 
ened and  sad,  and  he  seemed  but  little  inclined  to 
converse.  As  the  evening  wore  away,  however,  he 
began  to  make  an  effort  to  acquit  himself  as  common 
politeness  demanded.  Presently  he  startled  Mary  by 
declaring  that  he  did  not  expect  or  hope  to  survive 
long,  though  the  fitful  light  of  convalescence  might 
lead  those  about  him  to  believe  that  he  would  again 
be  restored  to  full  health  and  vigor.  He  earnestly 
besought  her  to  continue  her  kind  offices  till  his  last 
hour  and  remember  after  he  was  gone  that  the  anguish 
of  his  heart  had  been  much  relieved  by  her  attention 
and  sympathy.  She  was  greatly  moved  by  his  unex- 
pected utterances,  and  could  not  restrain  her  tears. 
And  Sunny  Wave,  though  she  could  not  comprehend 
much  that  was  said,  and  many  of  the  allusions,  any 
more  than  she  could  understand  the  significance  of 
the  decorations  she  had  assisted  in,  was  yet  touched 
in  her  tenderest  sympathies.  He  made  every  effort 
to  soothe  their  agitated  feelings,  and  when  he  had 
partially  succeeded,  proposed  in  return  for  their  good 
offices,  as  well  as  to  relieve  his  own  burdened  mind, 
to  explain  the  occasion  of  his  sojourn  in  the  place. 

He  began  by  referring  to  his  earlier  life ;  stating 
that  he  was  a  native  of  Seville,  his  father  having 
been  a  civil  officer  of  distinction,  and  proprietor  of 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  239 

large  estates  ;  that  he  was  the  youngest  of  the  family, 
having  had  one  brother  and  one  sister,  twins,  a  few 
years  older  than  himself.  His  sister  was  frequently 
at  the  court,  and  by  her  accomplishments  and  personal 
charms  attracted  the  tender  regard  of  more  than  one 
young  noble  who  bore  titles  superior  to  her  father's. 
Among  them  was  a  proud  officer  in  the  military 
service,  who  became  extremely  importunate  in  press- 
ing his  suit  for  her  hand.  But  she  felt  that  she  could 
never  entertain  for  him  that  affection  which  a  husband 
has  a  right  to  require,  and  sought  by  every  means  to 
avoid  his  company.  Her  father  and  twin  brother 
both  approved  her  course,  knowing  him  to  have  been 
low-bred  and  unworthy,  though  by  some  means  he 
had  succeeded  in  gaining  favor  with  royalty.  But 
the  more  steadily  his  advances  were  rejected,  the 
more  pertinaciously  did  he  proffer  them  ;  acting,  per- 
haps, on  the  irrational  presumption  that  repugnance 
can  be  certainly  overcome  by  association  ;  a  presump- 
tion that  has  proved  fatal  to  happiness  in  many  and 
many  an  instance,  in  affairs  of  the  heart. 

Unfortunately,  at  this  juncture  their  father  died. 
On  his  death-bed  he  charged  the  elder  brother  to 
watch  over  and  protect  his  twin  sister,  and  in  no 
event  to  permit  the  hateful  union.  And  in  the  most 
solemn  terms  that  dutiful  son  promised  that  if  his 
own  life  were  spared,  the  dreaded  sacrifice  never 
should  be  made. 

The  elder  brother  now  succeeded  to  the  titles  and 
estates,  and  by  his  urbanity,  impartiality  and  gen- 
erosity, secured  the  good-will  of  all  about  him.  In  a 
few  months  after  the  last  honors  had  been  paid  to  the 


24O    HI.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

departed,  however,  the  odious  officer  again  appeared 
in  suit  for  the  sister's  hand.  Again  he  was  rejected — 
more  sternly  than  before.  And  now  he  became  highly 
indignant,  vowing  revenge.  Immediately,  through 
his  favor  with  the  king,  aided  by  false  representations 
as  to  the  loyalty  of  the  new  head  of  the  house,  and 
fraudulent  records,  he  actually  obtained  a  decree 
bestowing  on  him  the  titles  and  possessions  of  the 
deceased  Don.  He  then  proposed  to  the  brother  to 
relinquish  all  claim  to  the  possessions  in  the  event 
of  his  obtaining  the  sister's  hand.  But  his  proffer 
was  rejected  with  scorn.  It  was  not  even  mentioned 
to  the  sister,  for  the  brother  well  knew  that  she  would 
urge  the  sacrifice  rather  than  see  him  beggared.  The 
three  proceeded  to  Barcelona,  to  seek  the  counsel 
of  an  aged  relative  who  dwelt  there.  They  were 
cordially  received,  and  every  exertion  made  to  coun- 
teract the  wily  efforts  of  their  persecutor.  He  grew 
more  and  more  incensed  at  the  contempt  with  which 
he  was  treated,  and  having  by  some  new  success  in 
his  office  raised  himself  still  higher  in  the  eyes  of  his 
royal  master,  made  a  desperate  move,  which  resulted 
in  obtaining  from  the  king  a  mandate,  in  the  form 
of  a  "  Request,"  that  his  union  with  the  sister  should 
no  longer  be  opposed  by  the  family.  Thus  armed, 
he  appeared  in  Barcelona,  and  his  presence,  under 
such  circumstances,  as  might  well  be  supposed,  sent 
a  grievous  pang  to  more  than  one  heart. 

But  to  the  surprise  of  all,  the  elder  brother  and  the 
sister,  in  a  few  days  seemed  to  emerge  from  under 
the  cloud  and  become  quite  calm  ;  at  times,  cheerful. 
The  officer  now  became  a  frequent  visitor  at  their 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  24! 

place  of  abode  —  indeed  an  apparently  accepted  suitor. 
There  was  a  great  mystery  in  this,  to  the  younger 
brother,  a  mystery  at  times  painfully  ominous,  and 
he  did  not,  as  he  remarked,  know  whether  to  rejoice 
or  lament. 

The  titles  and  estates  were  all  relinquished  by  the 
now  happy  aspirant,  and  irrevocably  confirmed.  And 
his  joy  expressed  itself  otherwise  in  lavish  expenditure 
and  sedulous  attention.  But  to  the  younger  brother, 
as  he  again  and  again  observed,  there  seemed  some- 
thing fearfully  portentous  —  something  like  the  weird 
calm  that  precedes  the  dashing  tempest.  His  brother 
and  sister  were  more  than  ever  by  themselves  in  the 
retired  rooms  of  the  castle  and  the  garden  nooks,  and 
frequently  spent  hours  in  low  and  earnest  discourse. 
It  appeared  as  if  one  great  lethean  wave  were  over- 
whelming the  sorrows  of  the  past.  Their  bearing 
towards  him  was  affectionate  in  the  extreme,  and  their 
tenderness  increased,  day  by  day.  Thus  time  passed. 

The  nuptial  day  was  appointed,  and  the  ceremony 
was  to'  take  place  in  Seville.  On  the  eventful  day 
the  train  proceeded  to  the  majestic  old  medieval 
church.  They  entered  to  the  sound  of  music,  and 
flowers  were  lavishly  scattered  in  the  path  of  the 
bride.  The  aged  prelate,  in  gorgeous  vestments, 
stood  ready  to  perform  his  office.  When  the  moment 
arrived  for  presenting  the  bride,  the  brother  and  sister, 
who  had  not  ceased  to  be  almost  in  each  other's  arms, 
slowly,  but  with  unfaltering  step,  approached  the  su- 
perbly draped  chancel. 

At  this  juncture,  however,  as  if  for  the  purpose 
of  rearranging  some  article  of  dress,  the  brother  asked 
K  16 


242    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

of  the  groom  permission  to  step  with  his  sister,  for  a 
moment,  into  a  neighboring  alcove.  They  passed 
within  the  glittering  drapery,  beckoning  the  younger 
brother  to  follow.  He  entered,  and  found  his  sister 
tenderly  encircled  in  her  brother's  arms.  Her  gem- 
med head  rested  on  his  shoulder,  and  the  light  was 
streaming  through  the  manifold  tinted  gothic  window, 
illuminating  the  sacred  devices,  and  falling  with  almost 
supernatural  radiance  upon  her  now  drooping  form. 

At  this  point  of  his  narration  the  young  man  be- 
came greatly  agitated,  but  falteringly  added  that  his 
brother  bade  him  approach  and  kiss  the  upturned 
brow  of  his  sister.  He  did  so,  and  she  returned  his 
caress  with  a  warmth  which  he  declared  the  two  long 
winters  had  not  chilled. 

With  struggling  voice  he  added,  that  then  a  mo- 
ment of  portentous  silence  followed,  and  an  unuttera- 
ble, undefinable  apprehension  began  to  oppress  him. 
.  .  .  Scarcely  had  his  sister  and  himself  exchanged 
that  fervid  kiss,  she  still  remaining  in  the  brother's 
arms,  when  her  whole  frame  began  to  quiver.  Then, 
with  the  speed  of  a  lightning  flash,  a  strange  flush 
rushed  over  her  countenance,  her  eyes  closed,  and 
her  limbs  began  to  falter.  .  .  . 

The  next  moment  she  was  dead. 

The  brother  laid  her  down,  and  then,  in  terrible 
mockery,  called  the  groom  to  behold  his  bride.  And 
he  proclaimed  his  readiness  to  yield  his  own  life  on 
the  instant.  Pointing  to  the  sword  borne  by  a  page 
of  the  groom,  and  to  his  own  breast,  he  mutely  invited 
the  use  of  the  weapon.  But  the  other  only  motioned 
him  away,  too  much  horrified  for  any  further  act. 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  243 

The  brother  then  declared  that  he  would  leave  his 
desolated  home  forever,  and  not  remain  to  meet  his 
fate  upon  the  block,  a  spectacle  for  some  barbarous, 
mocking  multitude. 

"  He  flew  to  me,"  added  the  now  sobbing  young 
man,  in  his  imperfect  English,  "  and  hastily  placed  in 
my  hands  a  few  valuable  papers  and  trinkets  ;  among 
the  first,  the  muniments  of  title,  evidencing  that  he, 
together  with  my  sister,  had  some  days  before  exe- 
cuted all  the  writings  necessary  to  make  me  sole 
possessor  of  the  estates  of  our  house.  And  without 
uttering  another  word  he  disappeared.  Taking  one 
trusty  servant,  in  an  hour  he  had  passed  the  city 
gates.  And  I  never  saw  him  again.  After  many 
months  of  unwearied  search  through  Europe,  I  ascer- 
tained, on  my  return  to  Cadiz,  that  he  had  taken 
passage  for  America.  By  the  first  vessel  bound 
hither  I  followed,  and  in  a  week  or  two  after  my 
arrival  was  fortunate  enough  to  discover  the  lodging 
place  of  the  servant  who  had  attended  him.  From 
this  faithful  adherent  I  learned  the  particulars  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  suddenly,  in  this  vicinity,  as 
he  was  journeying  eastward.  I  felt  no  pang  on  learn- 
ing of  his  decease,  for  he  was  weary  of  life,  and  were 
better  at  rest. 

"  I  immediately  came  hither,  for  I  desired  to  look 
upon  his  grave  before  being  laid  in  my  own.  By 
diligent  inquiry  I  have  found  it,  in  a  pleasant  spot, 
beneath  the  branches  of  an  oak  in  the  village  burial- 
place.  Your  father,  Sunny  Wave,  first  led  me  there. 
And  there  must  they  soon  lay  my  own  remains,  for 
my  time  is  very  short.  And  the  thought  of  thus  lying 


244    In-   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

down  in  that  quiet  spot  is  far  more  grateful  to  me 
than  the  thought  of  being  borne  in  pomp  to  our 
ancestral  vault  in  the  old  cathedral  crypt.  Though 
by  our  faith  this  is  not  consecrated  ground,  it  yet  is 
of  our  common  Master's  heritage.  There  the  sighing 
breeze,  the  bird,  and  insect  choir  will  be  enough  for 
requiem  and  mass." 

So  the  narration  ended.  The  young  man  then  sat 
in  silence,  excepting  an  occasional  sob,  and  with 
averted  face.  Mary  had  become  greatly  depressed. 
But  not  so  with  Sunny  Wave.  She  was  all  aglow 
with  indignation.  Her  dark  eyes  blazed  with  un- 
wonted lustre,  and  her  little  foot  rose  and  fell  with 
vengeful  emphasis.  All  the  savage  of  her  nature 
seemed  asserting  itself.  "  My  fadher,"  she  exclaimed, 
"  I  go  tell  um  !  He  find  um  !  He  kill  um !  He  say, 
Swear  high,  swear  very  high.  I  go  now,  find  um." 
And  it  was  quite  as  much  as  the  others  could  do  to 
prevent  her  rushing  right  off  in  the  storm  to  persuade 
her  father  forthwith  to  depart  on  his  retributive  mis- 
sion to  avenge  the  wrongs  done  by  the  Spanish  officer. 
They  however  finally  succeeded  in  making  her  under- 
stand something  of  the  impossibilities  in  the  way  of 
his  executing  such  a  piece  of  knight-errantry.  And  by 
degrees  her  excitement  abated  under  the  comforting 
suggestion  that  the  Great  Spirit  would  keep  an  eye  on. 
him  and  see  that  he  did  not  escape  punishment. 

The  foregoing  fragment  of  personal  history  is  ro- 
mantic and  strange  and  tragical  enough.  But  many 
truths  partake  of  such  qualities.  In  this  utilitarian 
age,  and  among  a  people  so  little  inclined  as  we  to 
recognize  safety  or  justice  in  impulsive  chivalric  action, 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  245 

it  may  appear  quite  incomprehensible.  But  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  occurrences  as  narrated 
took  place  at  a  period  when  the  conceptions  of  men 
were  essentially  different,  when  such  events  were 
far  from  being  anomalous.  At  this  day,  an  occurrence 
of  the  kind  would  send  a  startling  thrill  through  all 
the  civilized  world.  But  in  that  age  of  chivalry,  and 
in  the  sunny  land  of  the  olive  and  the  vine,  where 
the  stirring  songs  of  the  troubadours  and  the  brilliant 
achievements  of  knight-errantry,  had,  centuries  before, 
begun  to  exercise  a  marked  influence  and  strongly 
fix  in  the  youthful  mind  such  refined  ideas  of  honor 
and  gallantry,  they  were  rather  matters  of  course. 

But  by  what  means  was  the  willing  death  of  that 
fair  maid  of  Seville  so  speedily,  so  quietly  accom- 
plished ?  Some  years  before,  there  had  been  discov- 
ered, in  France,  a  wonderful  chemical  compound.  It 
was  a  clear,  tasteless  liquid,  two  or  three  drops  of 
which  possessed  the  terrific  power  of  destroying  life 
almost  instantly.  It  was  put  up  in  small,  elegantly 
cut  and  gilded  vials,  and  privately  disposed  of  at  such 
enormous  prices  that  the  shocking  instances  of  its 
use  were  far  from  frequent. 

A  severe  north-east  storm  was  now  raging  about 
the  Anchor.  The  wind  bellowed  in  the  great  chim- 
ney throat,  and  raved  and  squealed  at  every  chink. 
Dry  branches  from  the  giant  tree  that  threw  its 
patriarchal  limbs  over  the  trembling  fabric,  were  now 
and  then  dashed  against  the  roof  with  thundering 
violence.  The  timbers  shivered  and  the  loose  board 
sheething  rattled  and  creaked  as  if  more  than  ordinary 
mischief  were  determined  on  by  the  enraged  elements. 


246    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

And  the  few  crisp  leaves  that  had  held  to  their  native 
stems  till  now,  whirled  against  the  closed  shutters 
and  seemed  whispering  for  entrance  into  some  calmer 
quarters. 

But  the  cheerful  fire  in  the  chamber  of  the  sick 
still  burned  brightly,  illuminating  with  a  ruddy  glow 
the  gaily  colored  plaster  portraits  which  Mary  was 
accustomed  to  call  those  of  her  grand-parents,  that 
hung  above  the  mantel,  the  gentle  dame  in  her  prim 
cap,  seeming  to  look  approvingly  across  upon  the 
broad  sampler  which  Mary's  hand  had  wrought,  and 
which  adorned  the  opposite  wall.  Then  there  were 
the  Christmas  wreaths  ;  but  upon  those  unpuritanical 
decorations  the  loving  eyes  did  not  seem  to  rest  with 
the  same  approval.  The  braided  carpet  was  soft  and 
warm,  and  the  simple  hangings  about  the  bed  were 
as  clean  and  smooth  as  neat  and  skillful  hand  could 
make  them. 

It  was  soon  apparent  that  the  recital  had  greatly 
relieved  the  mind  of  the  young  man.  Mary  had 
become  quite  calm,  and  Sunny  Wave's  excitement 
was  all  over.  They  continued  in  cheerful  conversa- 
tion for  some  time,  and  then  partook  of  their  simple 
treat,  the  Christmas-pie  being  an  object  of  great  mys- 
tery to  Sunny  Wave,  but  by  no  means  affronting  to 
her  appetite. 

It  was  late  when  Mary  arose  to  finish  her  duties  in 
the  sick  chamber,  for  the  night  —  to  warm  the  pillows 
and  arrange  the  medicines  and  drinks.  Then  she 
and  her  dusky  friend  retired  to  her  own  neat  little 
chamber,  for  the  repose  which  their  tense  feelings 
so  much  required.  But  Sunny  Wave  could  never 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS. 


rest  on  a  sack  of  "goose  wool,"  as  she  called  a  feather- 
bed. A  blanket,  spread  upon  the  floor,  near  an  open 
window,  even  during  a  storm,  was  much  more  in 
accordance  with  her  ideas  of  comfort. 

Winter  wore  away.  The  edifying  assemblages  in 
the  bar-room  had  become  less  fully  attended,  as  the 
evenings  grew  shorter.  Spring  arrived.  The  melted 
snows  rushed  down  in  rivulets  from  the  hills.  The 
icy  fetters  of  the  ponds  were  dissolved.  Vegeta- 
tion began  to  put  forth  with  renewed  life.  And  the 
meadows  and  woods  were  again  jocund  with  the 
voices  of  the  aquatic  and  the  winged  minstrels.  The 
huge  banking  of  seaweed  was  removed  from  the  un- 
derpinning of  the  Anchor  ;  the  heavy  shutters  were 
taken  down  from  the  casements  ;  and,  trained  by 
the  gentle  hand  of  Mary,  the  woodbine  began  to 
climb  toward  the  old  niche  from  which  it  had  been 
accustomed,  year  after  year,  to  peep  in  at  the  window 
and  watch  over  her  slumbers  during  the  moonlight 
watches.  The  busy  seed-time  came,  and  then  the 
bar-room  meetings  were  altogether  suspended,  for  the 
long  days  of  toil  led  the  laborers  early  to  seek  their 
needed  repose. 

The  Spanish  youth  found  his  health  so  far  restored 
that  he  experienced  little  inconvenience  from  being 
abroad.  He  formed  acquaintances  among  the  vil- 
lagers, and  often  went  on  long  rambles  with  them, 
which  he  appeared  to  highly  enjoy.  And  he  soon 
became  something  of  a  sportsman.  With  gun  and 
fishing  rod  he  often  sallied  forth  as  early  after  the 
sun  had  risen  as  prudence  would  allow,  and  returned 
with  ample  evidence  of  his  skill  and  good  luck.  And 


248    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

not  unfrequently  were  the  members  of  the  Court,  as 
they  paused  for  a  meal  at  the  Anchor,  indebted  to  his 
prowess  for  their  most  savory  dish.  No  wonder  that 
all  unhealthy  suspicions  of  him  presently  began  to 
fade  from  their  minds.  From  his  dusky  friend  Arrow 
John,  he  received  many  useful  lessons  in  hunting,  the 
two  sometimes  scouring  the  woods  together  on  long 
and  fatiguing  ranges. 

But  even  the  balmy  weather  and  liberal  exercise 
out  of  doors  were  not  sufficient  to  fully  establish  his 
health  ;  though  it  appears  highly  probable  that  had 
his  mind  been  at  ease  his  health  would  have  become 
restored.  But  be  that  as  it  may.  After  an  occasion 
of  unusual  exposure,  he  was  again  thrown  upon  a 
fever-heated  bed.  And  with  calm  confidence  he  anti- 
cipated a  speedy  release  from  a  life  that  had  few 
charms  for  him.  Mary  quietly  resumed  her  duties  in 
the  sick  chamber ;  and  not  only  were  the  family  at 
the  Anchor,  but  the  villagers,  far  and  near,  sincerely 
affected  by  the  evident  prospect  of  the  early  death 
of  one  who  had  by  so  many  generous  acts  endeared 
himself  to  all,  and  whose  sad  history,  which  by  this 
time  had  become  generally  known,  had  raised  up  for 
him  the  sympathy  of  every  feeling  heart. 

.  .  .  .  Upon  the  afternoon  of  a  fair  summer 
day,  as  the  tall  relics  of  the  ancient  forest  that  still 
stood  proudly  around  the  settlement,  whispering  to 
each  other  about  their  memories  of  by-gone  years, 
threw  their  cool  shadows  upon  the  broad  highway,  a 
long  funeral  procession  moved  slowly  along  from  the 
"BlewAnkor"  to  the  burying-place.  Divers  .digni- 
fied members  of  the  Court  were  there ;  the  villagers 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  249 

from  all  quarters  were  there ;  and  even  the  children 
from  the  little  school-house  in  the  hollow  helped  to 
swell  the  train.  But  foremost  among  the  mourners 
were  the  inmates  of  the  inn.  Every  countenance 
bore  the  impress  of  sorrow  unfeigned  ;  but  none 
seemed  more  grievously  afflicted  than  the  weeping 
Mary. 

It  was  the  funeral  of  the  young  Spaniard. 

They  laid  him  down  by  the  side  of  his  beloved 
brother.  And  perhaps  at  some  future  time,  as  the 
grave-digger  overturns  the  sod  to  make  room  for  some 
other  dust  that  must  be  committed  to  dust  —  for  the 
spot  so  early  consecrated  has  ever  remained  devoted 
to  the  sacred  purposes  of  burial  —  he  will  exhume  a 
little  golden  crucifix,  for  the  one  which  the  youth 
bore  so  constantly  about  his  person,  and  was  accus- 
tomed to  kiss  so  fervently  when  his  spirits  were  most 
depressed,  and  which  was  placed  in  his  hand  by  his 
sister  at  the  terrible  moment  of  her  sacrifice,  was 
laid  upon  his  bosom,  by  the  gentle  hand  of  Mary, 
as  they  fastened  down  the  coffin  lid ;  but  she  con- 
cealed it  among  the  white  lilies,  for  she  would  not 
offend  the  godly  ones  present,  who  might  have  deemed 
the  act  a  superstitious  or  defiant  innovation  of  puri- 
tanical custom. 

The  sods  upon  the  grave  of  the  young  Spaniard 
had  hardly  begun  to  knit  their  verdure  when  another 
sorrowful  event  transpired  at  the  Anchor.  On  the 
afternoon  of  a  balmy  day,  Mary  was  quietly  and  sadly 
putting  in  order  the  room  so  lately  occupied  by  the 
departed,  and  arranging  his  effects  for  delivery  over 
K* 


25O    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

to  the  custodian  appointed  by  the  Court,  now  and 
then  heaving  a  sigh  as  one  thing  and  another  brought 
up  touching  recollections. 

While  thus  employed,  with  startling  suddenness 
she  began  to  reel  as  if  from  an  intense  vertigo,  and 
was  scarcely  able  to  reach  the  bed,  upon  which  she 
fell.  And  when  from  her  long  absence,  her  alarmed 
friends  hastened  to  the  room,  there  she  lay,  the  balmy 
air  and  the  sunlight  struggling  through  the  foliage 
that  curtained  the  window,  and  falling  blandly  upon 
the  blanched  cheek,  as  if  endeavoring  to  call  back  the 
flush  of  life.  But  vain  were  the  endeavors  of  air,  and 
sunlight,  and  sorrowing  friends.  The  gentle  spirit 
had  forever  fled. 

The  cause  of  the  sudden  death  of  Mary  remained 
for  a  long  time  a  profound  mystery  to  the  wise  village 
doctor  as  well  as  others.  Some  thought  she  had  been 
bitten  or  stung  by  a  horribly  venomous  reptile  or 
insect ;  but  no  mark  was  found.  And  others  sug- 
gested still  more  improbable  means.  But  they  did 
not  know,  neither  did  the  poor  girl  herself  know,  that 
the  little  gilded  vial  which  she  found  in  the  dressing 
case  of  the  young  Spaniard,  was  the  same  that  con- 
tained the  deadly  fluid  that  destroyed  the  life  of  the 
Sevilleian  maid.  It  still  contained  enough  to  destroy 
many  lives.  Impelled  by  the  curiosity  of  her  sex, 
she  had,  before  rinsing,  taken  a  fatal  taste,  it  being 
entirely  scentless. 

There  was  another  sad  day  at  the  Anchor  —  the 
funeral  day  of  the  beloved  Mary.  The  yard  had  been 
cleanly  raked,  the  walls  of  the  bar-room  white-washed, 
the  glasses  and  newly  scrubbed  furniture  arranged  in 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  25! 

the  neatest  order,  the  floor  freshly  sanded,  and  the 
hearth  made  clean  and  tidy  with  its  green  boughs. 
The  little  parlor,  too,  was  in  as  perfect  order  as  if 
Mary's  own  hand  had  been  active  there.  Upon  the 
side-board  a  vase  of  fresh  flowers  were  blooming,  and 
ever-greens  adorned  the  fire-place.  In  the  centre 
of  the  room  stood  the  table  on  which  the  gentle  girl 
had  so  often  spread  the  traveler's  repast ;  and  upon  it 
rested  the  coffin  in  which  her  cold  remains  reposed. 
Sweet  flowers,  gathered  from  those  she  had  delighted 
to  cherish,  lay  on  her  bosom,  and  her  pale  counte- 
nance was  so  natural,  excepting  in  its  paleness,  that 
one  might  have  thought  she  slept. 

As  the  solemn  hour  for  the  last  rites  approached, 
the  bar-room  was  closed,  and  no  rough  lounger  ap- 
peared within  the  hallowed  precincts.  Soon  the  house 
could  not  contain  the  half  of  those  who  came  to  pay 
the  last  affecting  tribute.  The  plants  she  had  nur- 
tured in  the  garden  were  trampled  down  by  the 
multitude  in  their  eagerness  to  draw  near  the  sacred 
remains.  And  the  sighs  of  the  village  maidens,  as 
they  gathered  around  the  coffin  to  take  a  last  look 
upon  its  beloved  occupant,  attested  their  acute  sense 
of  bereavement. 

The  coffin-lid  was  fastened  down  forever.  And 
then  the  stalwart  youth  raised  the  bier  upon  their 
shoulders,  and  the  mourning  train  commenced  their 
slow  march  to  the  place  of  burial. 

Never  since  that  day  has  there  a  funeral  procession 
passed  along  those  streets,  in  which  were  more  sincere 
mourners,  youthful  hearts  that  more  keenly  felt  the 
pangs  of  severed  friendship,  thoughtful  hearts  that 


252    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

more  deeply  realized  the  grievousness  of  death's 
unheralded  descent.  And  never  since  that  day,  has 
there  passed  along  those  streets  a  train  following  to 
its  last  resting  place  a  form  from  which  a  brighter 
or  gentler  spirit  had  fled. 

Far  in  the  rear  of  the  procession,  with  stately  step, 
strode  Arrow  John,  smoking  his  curious  pipe  with  an 
energy  that  betokened  comfort  at  every  whiff.  He 
had  by  some  means  heard  of  the  death  of  his  friend, 
the  Spanish  youth,  and  hastened  to  the  settlement, 
over  many  leagues  of  forest,  for  he  happened  to  be 
visiting  the  chief  of  a  distant  tribe,  and  arrived  only 
in  time  to  witness  the  burial  of  Mary. 

By  the  hand  he  led  the  weary-footed  Sunny  Wave, 
she,  poor  soul,  sobbing  as  if  her  heart  would  break. 
"  Don't  ky,  don't  ky,  little  squaw,"  he  repeated,  in  his 
broken  English,  his  own  voice  betraying  but  ill-sup- 
pressed emotion  :  "  don't  ky.  They  all  gone  to  home 
of  Great  Spirit.  There  we  all  go  soon.  No  swear, 
no  swear,  no  ky,  no  ky,  there." 

And  now  we  will  return  more  directly  into  the 
company  of  the  members  of  the  Court.  It  has  been 
seen  what  provisions  they  made  for  their  own  enter- 
tainment at  the  Ship  Tavern.  And  let  us  just  take 
a  look  into  the  dingy  though  capacious  eating  room 
of  that  favored  establishment  while  they  are  assembled  ' 
at  their  meal  after  the  close  of  the  labors  of  the  day. 

I  am  unable  to  state  exactly  where  the  old  Ship 
Tavern  stood.  -Some  have  pointed  out  a  location 
at  the  north  end  of  the  city  which  I  do  not  think  can 
be  the  true  one.  And  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  253 

was  situated  somewhere  within  a  stone's-throw  of 
the  site  of  Brattle  street  church,  the  arm  throwing 
the  stone  being  a  pretty  strong  one  and  the  stone 
itself  conveniently  small.  It  stood  in  a  narrow,  crook- 
ed lane,  was  two  stories  high  in  front,  sloped  down  to 
one  in  the  rear,  and  had  one  or  two  enormous  old 
forest  trees  standing  about  it  like  ancient,  weather- 
beaten  sentinels.  It  was  a  frame  building,  with  huge 
oak  timbers,  and  the  boarding  horizontal  and  over- 
lapping. The  weather  had  warped  some  of  the  boards, 
so  that  gaping  seams  were  every  where  visible.  In 
summer,  this  enabled  the  inmates  to  have  an  agreea- 
ble circulation  of  air,  but  in  winter  involved  the 
necessity  of  making  some  demonstration  against  the 
chilling  blasts  that  scornfully  whistled  around.  And 
the  provident  landlord  met  the  necessity  by  punching 
seaweed  into  the  crevices. 

An  enormous  stone  chimney  went  up  through  the 
centre  of  the  house,  capacious  enough  for  the  ascent 
of  a  moderate  sized  balloon.  The  largest  room  was 
that  which  comprised  the  whole  rear  of  the  house, 
wherein  the  cooking  and  other  kitchen  operations 
were  carried  on.  Some  two  feet  of  green  wood  were 
usually  hissing  and  sputtering  in  the  huge  fire-place, 
and  the  sportive  smoke,  before  proceeding  upward 
and  out  through  the  great  chimney  throat,  would 
often  take  a  merry  whirl  about  the  room,  reddening 
the  eyes  of  the  occupants  and  causing  tears  to  flow 
at  its  pungent  jokes. 

In  this  room  the  great  dining  table  was  spread 
when  the  members  assembled  for  their  meals.  And 
occasionally,  upon  a  tempestuous  night,  it  was  cleared 


254         m-      THE   WORKERS   AND   THEIR   WORKS. 

for  a  game  of  blind-man's-buff,  the  grave  legislators 
entering  into  the  sport  with  perfect  looseness,  hopping 
around  with  the  alacrity  of  young  kangaroos.  The 
great  scar  that  disfigured  the  visage  of  Governor 
Dudley,  and  which  the  reader  may  have  noticed  as 
delineated  on  that  celebrated  portrait  of  him,  is  said 
to  have  been  caused  by  a  wound  he  received  on  an 
occasion  of  this  kind,  by  striking  his  head,  while 
blinded,  against  the  projecting  end  of  the  great  walnut 
crane. 

This  useful  apartment  was  likewise  sometimes  the 
scene  of  a  rollicking  dance.  But  I  cannot  say  that 
any  Court  members  engaged  in  such  diversion,  as 
they  could  not,  and  be  consistent,  while  making  laws 
prohibiting  it.  Of  course  they  would  not,  under  such 
a  moral  pressure,  frisk  about  in  the  dance,  any  more 
than  the  zealous  temperance  prohibitionists  of  our  day 
.would,  immediately  on  adjournment,  retire  to  a  stall, 
pull  down  the  curtain,  and  sip  their  toddy.  Out  upon 
the  pestilent  slanderer  who  dares  to  charge  a  Massa- 
chusetts legislator  with  inconsistency. 

There  was  another  interesting  entertainment  in 
which  the  worthy  legislators  of  old  sometimes  en- 
gaged, to  wile  away  a  long,  dull  evening ;  and  that 
was  the  calling  together  of  perhaps  half  a  dozen  of 
the  wildest  Indians  in  the  neighborhood,  warming 
them  up  a  little  with  the  bewitching  "  fire  water,"  and 
then  watching  their  antics.  It  was  a  study  ;  and  the 
proper  study  of  mankind,  I  suppose,  if  Pope  is  right. 
They  would  hop,  yell,  whoop,  and  go  through  with 
the  whole  round  of  their  infernal  gesticulations,  to 
the  undisguised  delight,  if  not  edification  of  the  mem- 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  255 

bers,  whose  industrious  minds,  perplexed  by  the  great 
affairs  of  state,  needed  relaxation.  Once  in  a  while 
the  performance  of  the  savages  would  end  in  a  serious 
quarrel,  illustrated  by  punched  heads  and  barked 
shins. 

It  is  really  astonishing  that  our  good  fathers  did 
not  more  fully  realize  the  evils  arising  from  supplying 
the  Indians  with  strong  drink.  They  could  not  have 
been  expected  to  have  a  conception  of  its  proper  use  — 
in  medicine  or  the  arts,  for  instance.  Their  conclu- 
sion, of  course,  was  that  it  was  made  to  get  drunk  on. 
And  so,  as  sure  as  they  could  get  it,  they  put  it  to 
what  they  supposed  its  proper  use.  The  following 
shows  the  kindly  disposition  of  the  Court  towards 
their  erring  brethren  of  the  red  skin.  It  need  not, 
perhaps,  be  reiterated  that  the  term  "  wine,"  included 
spirituous  liquors  generally : 

"  The  Court,  apprehending  yl  it  is  not  fit  to  deprive 
ye  Indians  of  any  lawfull  comfort  wch  God  aloweth  to 
all  men  by  ye  use  of  wine,  do  ordr  yl  it  shalbe  lawfull 
for  all  such  as  are  or  shalbe  alowed  licence  to  retaile 
wines,  to  sell  also  to  ye  Indians  so  much  as  may  be 
fit  for  their  needfull  use  or  refreshing."  [Court  Re- 
cords, Nov.  13,  1644. 

Why  this  house  of  entertainment  was  called  the 
Ship  Tavern,  I  do  not  know,  as  it  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  in  any  special  manner  a  resort  of  mariners. 
But  there  was  on  one  side  of  the  front  yard  the  hull 
of  an  old  cutter,  divested  of  the  interior  works,  turned 
bottom  up,  and  so  arranged  as  to  furnish  rather  com- 


256    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

fortable  quarters  for  pigs  and  poultry.  Divers  bur- 
rowing holes  were  also  perceptible  about  the  less 
exposed  parts,  which  were  made  by  certain  foraging 
animals  to  whom  poultry  yards  had  special  attractions, 
but  who  preferred  not  to  be  seen  about  the  premises. 
There  was  also  a  somewhat  obtrusive  sign  swinging 
in  front,  and  flaunting  before  the  eye  of  the  traveler 
a  blue  and  white  four-masted  ship,  bounding  over 
billows  of  orange  and  green.  And  perhaps  these 
were  enough  to  make  good  the  declaration  that  it 
was  the  "  Shipp  Taverne." 

But  it  is  high  time  to  draw  near  the  promised 
entertainment.  It  is  a  brusk  November  evening  ; 
such  a  one  as  is  always  enjoyable  within  doors  rather 
than  without.  It  is  early,  but  the  tallow-dips  are  all 
a-light,  for  darkness  came  rapidly  on,  as  the  thick 
gray  clouds  rolled  up  from  the  north,  when  the  sun 
went  down.  The  yard,  too,  is,  as  usual  of  a  moonless 
night,  glowing  with  the  spectral  light  of  numerous 
pine-knots  ;  the  only  available  means,  at  that  day,  for 
out-door  illumination. 

A  cheerful  fire  is  crackling.  The  oven  doors  are 
open,  as  the  sweltering  dishes  have  been  removed. 
The  boiling  pots  have  come  down  from  the  trammels. 
And  the  maids,  with  their  mistress,  are  busily  engaged 
in  placing  the  substantial  viands  upon  the  table. 

The  company  are  all  assembled  —  for  though  it  was 
not  uncommon  for  members  to  be  subjected  to  fines 
for  tardiness  at  Court,  there  seems  to  have  been  no 
occasion  to  call  any  one  to  account  for  tardiness  in 
his  duties  at  the  tavern  table. 

There  is  the  sprightly  Secretary  Rawson,  now  on 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  25 / 

one  side  of  the  table  and  anon  on  the  other,  skipping 
about  and  peering  into  every  thing,  as  if  he  considered 
himself  responsible  for  good  order  and  proper  service  ; 
smelling  of  this  dish,  then  of  that ;  casting  in  a  little 
salt  here  and  a  little  powdered  herb  there  ;  stirring  up 
the  contents  of  one  platter  with  the  great  horn  spoon, 
and  turning  over  the  contents  of  another  with  the 
huge  cauldron-fork  which  the  ingenious  blacksmith 
had  manufactured  from  a  broken  pitchfork  ;  smelling 
of  the  beer  in  this  tankard  and  sipping  of  something 
a  little  stronger  in  that  His  ruddy  and  smiling 
countenance  bespeaks  high  satisfaction  within,  though 
he  starts  and  shrugs  his  shoulders  occasionally,  as  a 
sharp  pain  catches  him  about  the  neck.  Poor  man, 
it  was  only  a  few  evenings  before  that  as  most  of  the 
same  company  were  assembled  in  that  same  room, 
after  supper,  sportively  engaged  in  physical  feats,  he 
was  led  to  believe,  by  the  jocose  Concord  member, 
that  it  is  possible  for  an  individual,  by  a  sudden  jerk, 
to  so  far  twist  his  neck  as  to  look  entirely  across  his 
back,  and  was  challenged  to  attempt  the  exploit.  He 
made  a  violent  effort,  and  came  near  breaking  his 
neck  by  the  means.  How  he  came  to  listen  to  the 
absurd  challenge,  is  mysterious.  The  reader,  if  he 
has  any  doubt  of  its  absurdity,  can  very  well  satisfy 
himself,  on  the  instant,  by  laying  down  his  book  and 
trying.  .  .  .  There !  you  could  not,  by  any  wrench- 
ing, see  half  way  across  your  back  —  could  you  ? 

Another  noted  person  present  was  the  Representa- 
tive from  Dedham,  Eliazer  Lusher.  His  countenance 
emulated  the  gravity  of  the  Cardiff  giant.  But  his 
mouth  kept  constantly  working,  as  if  he  were  of  the 

17 


258    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

ruminating  species.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that 
whenever  he  was  preparing  to  make  a  speech  in  the 
Court,  he  would  for  an  hour  or  two  keep  chewing 
and  swallowing  violently,  as  if  he  were  eating  his 
own  words.  It  is  undoubtedly  better  for  an  orator 
to  so  eat  his  words  at  first,  and  voluntarily,  than  to 
eat  them  on  compulsion  afterward  ;  for  they  would  lie 
easier  on  the  stomach.  But  however  Mr.  Lusher's 
habit  was  occasioned,  it  can  be  said  that  whatever  he 
uttered  was  well-digested,  and  had  a  marked  influence. 
He  was  a  worthy  man  as  well  as  one  of  more  than 
common  ability,  and  was  deferentially  regarded  not 
more  in  the  kitchen  of  the  Ship  Tavern  than  in  the 
Court.  He  was  the  same  individual  whom  the  Court, 
long  years  after  —  in  1661 — clothed  with  "magis- 
tratticall  power  for  examination,  conviction,  and  pro- 
ceeding ag*  vagabond  Quakers."  This,  in  the  eye 
of  some,  would  not  appear  much  to  his  credit.  But  it 
will  be  borne  in  mind  that  at  that  period  individuals 
were  sometimes  forced  to  accept  offices  or  suffer 
penalties.  And  Dedham,  as  is  well  known,  was  much 
disturbed  by  the  unruly  conduct  of  the  Quakers. 

Just  before  sitting  down  to  the  table,  Mr.  Lusher 
happened  to  descry,  hanging  from  one  of  the  upper 
beams  on  the  side  of  the  room,  some  ears  of  corn ; 
and  taking  great  interest  in  every  thing  that  pertained 
to  husbandry,  he  strode  to  the  end  of  the  table  and 
mounted  on  a  corner  to  examine  them.  The  perfidi- 
ous board  tilted  so  as  to  throw  him  off  his  balance ; 
and  as  he  came  down,  the  little  waiting  maid  Nora 
was  unfortunately  passing  with  a  dish  of  hot  bean 
porridge.  His  dexter  hand  struck  the  dish  with 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  259 

great  force,  and  sent  the  scalding  liquid  flying  in  all 
directions.  His  hands,  his  shanks,  and  his  feet  were 
somewhat  scalded,  though  by  the  timely  application 
of  remedies,  serious  injury  was  prevented.  He  was, 
however,  obliged  to  be  bandaged  and  laid  up  in  the 
easy  chair  in  the  adjoining  room  for  most  of  the 
evening. 

But  the  repast  is  ready,  and  we  must  spend  no  more 
time  in  making  observations  on  the  guests.  Presently 
the  seats  that  run  along  upon  either  side  of  the  table 
are  occupied  by  the  jolly  legislators.  A  blessing  is 
invoked  by  the  speaker,  and  the  duties  demanded  by 
the  hungry  stomachs  are  entered  upon  with  becoming 
activity  and  resolution. 

Game  was  abundant.  Venison  steak  and  bear 
meat,  rabbet  and  partridge,  all  asserted  their  presence 
in  savory  fumes.  There  was  plenty  of  good  beer, 
too,  with  a  moderate  allowance  of  those  more  precious 
liquids  at  that  time  known  under  the  general  denom- 
ination of  wine.  It  need  not  be  again  remarked  that 
tea  and  coffee  were  unknown  beverages,  in  those 
days.  Beer  was  the  great  staple.  And  as  the  legis- 
lators themselves  had  a  personal  interest  in  the  quality 
of  the  article  it  may  well  be  presumed,  that  they 
guarded  with  jealous  care,  against  cheats  in  the  brew- 
ing. Who  would  have  dared  to  sell  poor  beer  to  the 
keeper  of  the  place  where  they  knew  the  law-makers 
themselves  would  drink?  And  wo,  wo,  must  have 
been  the  cry  of  the  keeper  had  he  ventured  to  supply 
an  adulterated  article.  No,  no,  they  had  good  beer 
at  the  Ship  Tavern. 

It  was  believed  that  beer  was  a  healthy  and  nutri- 


26O    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

tious  drink  —  a  belief,  by  the  way,  not  peculiar  to 
that  generation,  if  the  guzzling  of  the  article  is  to  be 
taken  as  evidence  —  and  the  Court  were  not  disposed 
to  allow  the  beer-makers  to  sponge  the  wealthy  or 
disregard  the  necessities  of  the  poor  ;  and  so  legislated 
in  various  ways  to  circumvent  the  extortioners.  A 
specimen  or  two  of  the  enactments  will  be  given. 

"Vppon  complaynt  of  sundry  abuses  &  inconve- 
niences by  occasion  of  the  libertie  for  sellinge  beere 
at  three  pence  the  quart,  it  is  ordered  by  this  Court 
that  henceforth  no  beere  shalbe  sould  for  more  than 
two  pence  the  quart ;  &  that  braunch  of  the  law  that 
allowes  beere  to  be  sould  at  three  pence  the  quart  is 
hereby  repealed."  [Court  Records,  Aug.  30,  1653. 

Some  years  afterward,  to  wit,  Oct.  9,  1667,  the 
Court  ordered  that  no  licensed  innkeeper  should 
"  sell  or  any  wayes  vtter,  any  beere,  ale,  or  drincke 
instead  thereof,  by  retaile,  that  is  not  made  altogether 
of  good  barley  mault,  wthout  any  mixture  of  molasses, 
course  sugar,  or  other  materialls,  instead  of  mault,  on 
pcenalty  of  fiue  pounds  for  euery  such  offence."  Be- 
fore that,  however,  it  was  provided  "  that  euery  person 
licenced  to  keepe  an  ordinary  shall  always  be  provided 
of  strong  wholesome  beere,  of  fower  bushells  of  mault, 
at  least,  to  a  hogshead."  And  the  malt  intended  was 
to  be  "good  barley  mault."  Still  later,  in  1677,  the 
Court  enact  "  that  all  retailers  of  strong  beere,  being 
licenced  thereunto,  shall  haue  liberty  to  sell  strong 
beere  aboue  two  pence  per  quart,  provided  they  put 
in  of  barly  mault  proportionable,  i.  e.  beer  of  three 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  26 1 

pence  per  quart,  three  bushells  of  mault  to  a  barrell ; 
at  4d  per  quart,  4  bushells  of  mault  to  a  barrell." 
The  members  who  drew  up  these  orders  evidently 
knew  how  to  make  good  beer.  And  none  of  them 
had  any  idea  of  allowing  a  weak  or  adulterated  article 
to  be  imposed  upon  the  public. 

But  we  must  return  to  our  company,  who  by  this 
time  are  well  along  with  their  supper. 

Near  the  centre  of  the  table,  on  the  side  toward 
the  fire  sat  one  of  the  Hingham  members.  His  face 
was  red,  and  shone  as  if  it  were  newly  varnished. 
He  was  a  great  lover  of  beer,  when  it  was  good,  and 
an  extra  tankard  stood  near  his  place.  As  he  contin- 
ued to  eat  and  drink,  and  drink  and  eat,  an  extraordi- 
nary effect  was  produced.  His  elbows  would  once  in 
a  while  give  a  jerk  backward  with  a  violence  as 
remarkable  as  it  was  dangerous  to  those  within  their 
range.  At  the  same  time,  his  head  was  liable  to 
roll,  and  his  stomach  to  heave,  as  if  a  sneeze,  a  cough, 
a  laugh  and  hickup,  were  all  trying  experiments  on 
him  at  once.  It  was  painful  to  observe  him,  and  Mr. 
Gott,  who  sat  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  table,  and 
was  well  versed  in  all  the  prevailing  puritanical  doc- 
trines concerning  the  disguises  and  tricks  of  the 
evil  one,  and  had  not  before  had  his  attention  so 
forcibly  called  to  the  jerks  and  twitches  of  his  neigh- 
bor, at  once  declared  him  possessed  of  a  devil.  The 
proceedings  would  have  been  seriously  interrupted 
had  there  not  been  others  able  to  account  for  his 
condition.  As  remarked,  he  sat  back  to  the  fire,  and 
the  attentive  little  maid,  seeing  that  his  tankard  was 
again  empty,  tripped  up  to  replenish  it.  Eut  at  that 


262    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

unlucky  moment  his  elbow  gave  a  tremendous  twitch 
and  sent  her  straight  into  the  fire  —  to  the  very 
back-log  —  where  she  would  have  broiled  in  three 
minutes,  had  not  the  brawny  arms  of  Mr.  Brooks 
of  Concord  saved  her  from  such  a  catastrophe.  With 
a  horse  blanket  that  hung  near,  they  smothered  the 
fire  about  her  ;  and  so  prompt  was  the  rescue,  that  for 
the  second  time  that  evening,  she  had  to  be  thankful 
for  an  almost  miraculous  escape.  There  was  a  general 
uprising  from  the  table,  and  the  unfortunate  man 
would  have  been  roughly  handled  had  it  not  been  so 
apparent  that  it  was  a  mere  accident.  The  pretty 
face  of  the  girl  was  sadly  smutched  and  her  fair 
ringlets  singed  ;  but  her  tow-cloth  dress  was  not  free 
to  burn.  And  on  the  whole  the  occurrence  rather 
added  to  the  merriment. 

The  author  of  the  mischief,  however,  felt  troubled 
at  the  misadventure,  and  followed  the  group  toward 
the  sink,  whither  Nora  was  led  to  be  scrubbed,  huskily 
uttering  his  laments.  A  tub  of  water  sat  upon  the 
floor,  and  under  the  mistress's  ready  hand  —  which 
dipped  first  into  the  water  and  then  into  the  pan  of 
ashes,  and  then  expanded  in  energetic  rubs  upon  the 
young  face  —  there  presently  appeared  sweet  smiles 
in  place  of  the  ugly  crock.  Just  then  the  working  beer, 
or  something  else,  caused  another  smart  twitch  in  that 
unfortunate  elbow,  and  away  went  Mr.  Hills,  of  Mai- 
den, staggering  backward,  till  his  heel  hit  the  tub, 
and  down  he  sat,  plump  in  the  water,  making  a  great 
splashing,  and  forming  a  tableau  at  which  such  a  jolly 
set  as  were  there  assembled,  could  hardly  be  expected 
to  keep  countenance.  Even  Nora  burst  into  such  a 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  263 

fit  of  laughter  that  her  newly-scrubbed  face  shone 
again.  Mr.  Hills  himself  was  about  the  only  one 
who  did  not  appreciate  the  joke.  And  perhaps  it 
was  natural  that  as  he  scrambled  out,  all  dripping 
and  shivering,  he  should,  as  the  first  new  duty  of  his 
life,  essay  to  bestow  on  the  author  of  his  calamity  a 
suitable  chastisement.  But  as  he  approached,  with  up- 
lifted fist  and  angry  threats,  he  was  forcibly  restrained 
by  the  strong  arms  of  others.  And  their  appeasing 
words  together  with  the  offender's  own  humble  apol- 
ogy, acting  on  the  naturally  placid  disposition  of  Mr. 
Hills,  ended  in  the  mild  promise,  on  his  part,  of  some 
disagreeable  visitation  somewhere  in  the  future. 

The  landlord  supplied  Mr.  Hills  with  another  pair 
of  breeches  that  belonged  to  a  traveler,  who,  being 
much  fatigned,  had  retired  early.  He  also  supplied 
him  with-  a  dry  under  garment  from  his  own  wardrobe. 
The  excitement  over,  they  were  again  seated  at  table 
attending  to  the  closing  demands  of  appetite. 

After  the  sobering  events  the  conversation  took  a 
serious  turn,  and  the  great  spiritual  interests  as  well 
as  political  necessities  of  the  Colony,  came  up  for  free 
discussion.  And  an  opportunity  was  afforded  for  Mr. 
Gott  to  spread  himself  a  little.  This  individual  was 
a  Representative  from  a  frontier  settlement,  and  one 
who  had  not  been  guilty  of  uttering  a  mirthful  word 
or  taking  part  in  any  thing  that  appeared  like  sport, 
during  the  evening,  if  indeed  he  had  during  his  life. 
He  was  a  man  of  middle  age,  and  surcharged  with 
spurious  dignity.  His  dress  was  a  rusty,  frouzy  black 
velvet  bob-coat,  an  unornamented  doublet,  very  scant 
breeches  of  the  same  material  as  his  coat — and  which, 


264    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

judging  from  the  marks  of  age  about  them,  must, 
with  that  other  garment,  have  served  one  term  of 
usefulness  in  Old  England  before  emigrating  with 
their  owner  to  New  —  and  dark  gray  leggins.  His 
hair  was  combed  straight  down,  all  round,  and  was  so 
short  that  not  even  a  straggling  lock  came  below  his 
ears. 

He  was  one  of  the  very  straightest  of  the  puritanical 
stamp  ;  and  had  fairly  brought  himself  to  believe  that 
they  were  the  chosen  counsellors  of  their  Creator. 
In  the  House,  he  had  persistently  advocated  an  indis- 
criminate seizure  of  the  Indian  lands,  without  any 
recompense  to  the  "  tawny  devils,"  as  he  called  them. 
And  once  he  introduced  a  series  of  resolutions  led  off 
by  a  "Whereas,  ye  scripture  saith  yl  ye  earthe  is 
ye  Lords  and  ye  fullnesse  thereoff,  and  likewyse  furthr 
saith  yl  ye  earthe  is  giuen  to  ye  saints  ; "  followed  by 
a  "  Now  therefore,  Resolued,  yl  this  heritage  is  cures, 
wee  being  ye  saints."  But  that  summary  way  of 
establishing  title  did  not  exactly  meet  the  views  of  a 
majority  of  the  Court,  as  is  well  known.  A  similar 
piece  of  injustice  toward  the  Indians,  however,  was 
attempted  more  than  once,  and  by  such  men  as  should 
have  been  ashamed  of  themselves. 

There  having  been  some  talk  during  the  evening 
about  the  ravages  of  caterpillars  the  past  season,  Mr. 
Gott  unhesitatingly  urged  that  an  order  be  passed, 
without  delay,  prohibiting  the  pests  from  again  ap- 
pearing within  the  colonial  jurisdiction.  This  absurd 
proposition  made  even  the  sedate  Mr.  Child,  of  Water- 
town,  whistle  right  out.  Yet  it  was  put  forth  in  good 
faith.  And  it  was  his  perfect  honesty  that  made  it 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  26$ 

so  intolerably  funny.  They  made  merry  over  it ;  and 
so  it  may  be  said  that  he  incidentally  added  a  little  to 
the  amusement  of  the  evening.  This  trifling  matter 
would  not  have  been  introduced  here,  did  it  not  aptly 
illustrate  the  views  entertained  by  a  considerable  class 
at  that  time ;  of  which  class  Mr.  Gott  was  a  fair 
exponent. 

The  beer,  even,  imparted  no  animation  to  Mr.  Gott 
on  this  occasion,  though  that  or  something  else  caused 
his  tongue  to  dangle  with  a  little  more  freedom.  And 
as  the  others  began,  one  by  one,  to  retire  from  the 
alimentary  contest,  and  for  want  of  better  employment 
gave  attention  to  him,  he  snuffed,  and  whined,  and 
exhorted,  and  warned,  and  denounced ;  the  personal 
devil  coming  in  for  a  liberal  share  of  abuse ;  for  he, 
in  common  with  the  settlers  in  general,  firmly  believed 
in  the  frequent  corporeal  appearance  of  the  old  brim- 
stone gentleman,  and  entertained  them  with  details 
of  several  appearances  within  his  own  personal  know- 
ledge. He  asserted  among  other  things  that  a  day 
or  two  before,  on  his  way  to  the  Court,  he  had  seen 
the  black  spirit  in  a  swamp,  playing  with  snakes  ; 
and  as  he  returned,  a  little  after  dark,  he  traced  him 
frisking  about  among  the  trees,  by  the  sparks  he 
blew  from  his  mouth.  No  wonder  that  some  of  the 
company  stared  at  these  recitals,  and  that  timid  ones 
now  and  then  cast  furtive  glances  into  the  dark 
corners. 

Finally  Mr.  Gott  stopped  short  and  proposed  the 

singing  of  a  psalm.     At  this  the  merry  fellow  from 

Charlestown,  who  shrewdly  saw  that  by  a  dexterous 

chop  the  tide  of  feeling  might  now  be  changed  from 

L 


266    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

its  sombre  to  a  cheerful  cast,  sprang  up  and  instantly 
led  off,  not  with  a  psalm,  but  with  a  rollicking  old 
song,  with  which  they  were  all  familiar.  The  stirring 
melody  wrought  them  up  to  such  fervor  that  when 
the  chorus  was  reached  there  was  such  a  rapping  out 
that  some  instinctively  cast  their  eyes  upward  to  see 
if  the  roof  were  not  giving  way.  Mr.  Gott  was  of 
course  very  much  scandalized  by  the  profane  conduct, 
but  could  only  lament  in  silence. 

The  table  exercises  were  about  ended.  Chairs 
were  drawn  up  around  the  fire  and  in  the  warm 
corners.  Jokes  and  stories  began  to  circulate,  and 
sundry  pipes  emerged  from  their  hiding  places.  It 
happened  to  be  mentioned  that  Arrow  John  had 
made  his  appearance  in  the  bar-room,  and  Mr.  Child 
immediately  stepped  out  and  returned  with  that  illus- 
trious individual,  being  assured  that  all  would  be 
glad  of  his  company.  When  he  saw  the  hospitable 
table,  on  which  still  lingered  divers  well-supplied 
dishes,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  dam  huggary  !  No  swear,  no 
swear !  Walk  much  !  No  eat,  all  day  !  Help  Preach- 
um  Eliot  make  good  men  out  of  Indjans.  Dam  hard 
work!  No  swear,  no  swear,  he  say."  And  down 
he  sat  and  began  to  spoon  out  the  racoon  soup.  He 
took  no  notice  of  any  thing  beyond  his  immediate 
duty  to  his  appetite,  and  proceeded  in  perfect  silence, 
excepting  an  occasional  appreciative  grunt,  till  he  had 
concluded  a  hearty  meal.  Then  he  took  a  pipe  with 
the  others  and  was  presently  in  a  talkative  mood. 

Being  really  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  natural 
intelligence,  and  one  who  had  all  his  life  been  an 
acute  observer,  he  was  able  to  impart  much  valuable 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  267 

information  touching  the  topography  and  natural 
history  of  the  country.  And  being  altogether  above 
the  paltry  trick  of  quizzing,  full  credit  was  given  to 
his  statements  whenever  he  spoke  from  his  own 
personal  knowledge.  But  when  he  came  to  amplify 
on  occurrences  in  the  wonderful  time  of  that  myste- 
rious grandfather,  he  certainly  did  afford  room  for  an 
occasional  doubt  as  to  the  accuracy  of  his  information. 

Some  discussion  was  had  about  the  three  rather 
remarkable  hills  that  gave  the  name  Trimountain  to 
the  territory  of  Boston  —  Beacon  hill,  Copp's  hill,  and 
Fort  hill  —  as  the  Court  had  been  talking  about 
establishing  signal  stations  for  some  purpose.  And 
Arrow  John  informed  them,  as  an  unquestionable 
historical  fact,  that  they  all  three  originated  in  the 
time  of  his  grandfather. 

He  told  them,  in  the  utmost  seriousness,  that 
Beacon  hill,  on  which,  as  the  reader  well  knows,  the 
State  House  now  stands,  was  formed  in  this  manner : 
A  stupendous  animal,  larger  than  two  hundred  buffa- 
loes, had  come  down  from  the  north,  on  a  rampage. 
He  was  very  wild,  and  committed  terrible  devastation 
along  the  whole  route,  leaving  a  path  like  that  of  a 
tornado.  His  size  was  so  great  that  he  could  walk 
over  Charles  river,  at  the  widest  part,  without  touch- 
ing one  of  his  feet  to  the  water.  He  had  six  legs, 
with  feet  larger  than  the  great  dining  table  before 
them.  As  to  his  food,  nothing  came  amiss.  He 
could  swallow  the  largest  buffalo  to  be  found,  entirely 
whole,  and  would  stand  and  crunch  down  great  heaps 
of  rocks  as  big  as  Indian  lodges,  with  as  much  ease 
and  relish  as  a  buffalo  would  eat  up  corn. 


268    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

On  his  way  to  the  seashore  he  drank  dry  most  of 
the  ponds  that  lay  in  his  course  ;  and  when  he  arrived 
here,  commenced  drinking  the  salt  water  with  such 
avidity  that  the  Indians  began  to  fear  he  would  drink 
the  ocean  dry,  and  thus  destroy  all  the  clams,  their 
chief  reliance  for  winter  food.  The  more  he  drank 
of  the  salt  water  the  more  thirsty  he  became.  And 
moreover  it  had  an  intoxicating  effect  upon  him  ;  so 
that  after  drinking  such  a  quantity  as  would  prevent 
the  next  tide  from  coming  up  to  its  usual  height,  he 
would  dash  and  slash  about,  bellowing  and  shaking 
his  head  in  the  most  terrific  manner.  Then  he  would 
whisk  his  tail  around  the  great  trees,  tear  them  up 
by  the  roots  and  throw  them  up  in  the  air,  as  if  he 
thought  it  rare  sport.  And  worse  than  all,  he  made 
a  specialty  of  swallowing  every  canoe  he  could  find, 
all  the  more  greedily  if  it  happened  to  contain  a  few 
Indians. 

Now  the  Great  Spirit,  loving  his  red  children  above 
every  thing  else  that  he  had  created,  was  grieved  at 
the  annoyances  they  suffered  from  the  villainous  con- 
duct of  the  beast,  and  determined  on  his  destruction. 
A  good  opportunity  was  soon  presented  to  effect  the 
purpose.  There  came  on  a  day  of  melting  heat,  and 
the  animal  retired  into  a  shady  hollow  for  a  nap. 
The  Great  Spirit  at  once  saw  his  chance  and  instantly 
sent  down  upon  him  an  appalling  storm  of  hail,  the 
smallest  stones  being  as  large  as  white  men's  houses. 
The  storm  continued  to  beat  till  such  a  body  of  ice 
had  fallen  upon  him  that  he  could  not  rise,  his  bones 
being  all  crushed.  Then  the  Great  Spirit  hastened 
to  heap  the  earth  upon  him  till  the  little  mountain 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  269 

now  called  Beacon  hill  was  formed.  And  the  vera- 
cious Indian  added  that  his  bones  could  then  be 
found  by  digging  deep  enough. 

As  the  narration  ended,  Mr.  Gott,  who  had  listened 
with  profound  attention,  solemnly  turned  upon  the 
relator  with  the  inquiry,  "  And  dost  thou  not  know, 
benighted  salvage,  that  the  terrible  beast  was  the 
devil ;  and  that  he  hath  yet  power  to  come  forth  in 
divers  shapes,  to  insult  and  abuse  God's  people? 
Buried  is  he,  in  ice  ?  Your  Great  Spirit  did  well  to 
punish  thus,  for  ice  is  his  abhorrence,  the  lake  that 
burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone  being  the  true  place 
of  his  enjoyment.  Nay,  tawny  salvage,  the  Court  will 
never  order  those  infernal  bones  to  be  digged  from 
the  earth.  No,  never,  never." 

Well,  we  will  not  undertake  to  disprove  the  Indian's 
narration,  nor  gainsay  Mr.  Gott's  pious  conclusion, 
and  will  only  remark  that  though  no  geological  dis- 
turbance has  yet  brought  to  light  any  extraordinary 
animal  relics,  it  is  yet  true  that  for  these  many  years 
there  has,  metaphorically  speaking,  from  time  to  time 
been  a  strong  smell  of  the  elephant  in  the  legislative 
halls  that  crown  the  eminence  —  notably  a  few  years 
since,  when  the  great  Hoosac  mountain  bore  came 
on  for  consideration.  Other  instances  will  occur  to 
the  intelligent  reader ;  and  it  is  not  probable  that  the 
future  will  be  entirely  free  from  like  manifestations. 

We  have  heard  much  from  historians  and  orators 
about  the  poetic  conceptions  of  the  Indians.  And 
the  idea  of  a  shower  of  icebergs  is  monstrously 
poetical  —  especially  if  we  imagine  them  descending 
in  bright  sunshine. 


2/O    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

A  short  period  of  silent  reflection  and  energetic 
smoking  followed  this  piece  of  historical  information 
from  Arrow  John,  who,  perceiving  that  it  made  a 
deep  impression  on  their  minds,  signified  his  willing- 
ness to  further  instruct  them  in  the  history  of  his 
grandfather's  time,  by  giving  an  account  of  an  occur- 
rence on  which  he  had  often  reflected  with  much 
satisfaction.  A  nod  from  Mr.  Rawson  encouraged 
him  to  proceed,  and  all  ears  were  again  opened. 

He  said  that  the  crows  had  so  increased  that  they 
became  the  most  destructive  foes  the  Indians  had. 
It  was  impossible  to  raise  any  corn.  And  in  short 
every  effort  in  their  simple  husbandry  was  defeated. 
Then,  after  destroying  all  the  hopes  of  the  sower 
of  seed,  they  would  in  the  autumn  visit  the  seashore 
in  such  numbers  and  with  such  voracious  appetites 
that  the  poor  clams  were  in  danger  of  extermination. 
And  if  the  clams  failed,  utter  starvation  would  be  the 
lot  of  many  Indians.  All  the  incantations  known 
were  resorted  to  for  relief,  and  the  Great  Spirit  was 
implored,  at  every  change  of  the  moon,  to  destroy  the 
black  pests.  Things  were  in  this  condition  when  the 
despairing  Indians  of  the  parts  adjacent  were  aroused 
one  morning  by  an  extraordinary  appearance  along 
the  coast.  The  whole  shore,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  was  covered  by  crows,  cawing  and  flapping 
their  wings  in  the  most  excited  manner.  The  Indians 
began  rapidly  to  gather  from  all  quarters,  and  the 
strangeness  of  the  scene  struck  terror  on  all  sides. 

But  it  was  soon  perceived  that  the  mysterious 
visitants  were  really  crows.  And  the  timely  discov- 
ery prevented  the  alarm  from  developing  itself  in  any 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  2/1 

dangerous  extravagance.  They  soon  felt  ashamed 
of  their  momentary  want  of  courage,  and  one  Indian 
approached  the  cawing  phalanx,  and  then  another, 
and  another,  till  a  decent  little  army  appeared,  ready 
to  meet  the  invading  foe.  And  they  could  not  restrain 
their  ardor  when  they  perceived  what  an  admirable 
opportunity  was  now  presented  to  retaliate  for  the 
many  grievous  wrongs  they  had  suffered.  Down  they 
charged  upon  them,  like  Samsons  among  Philistines, 
with  their  tomahawks  and  clubs,  slaying  right  and 
left,  heedless  of  every  caw  for  quarter.  Scarcely  an 
individual  crow  took  to  flight ;  and  that  led  the 
assailants  to  imagine  that  they  were  defiantly  taunt- 
ing them ;  which  redoubled  their  fury ;  and  the  slaugh- 
ter went  vigorously  on.  They  followed  up  the  battle 
along  the  coast,  till  the  coming  tide  took  the  bloody 
strife  out  of  their  hands,  overwhelming  all  that  re- 
mained of  the  ill-starred  invaders. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  Arrow  John  in  all  his 
wonderful  details.  It  is  enough  to  remark  that  sub- 
stantially his  explanation  was,  that  the  great  clams  — 
which  he  said  were  at  that  period  as  large  as  any 
man's  head  —  had  joined  forces,  for  self-preservation, 
aided  by  all  the  lobsters  that  claimed  a  residence  in 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  had  straturgetically  raised 
themselves  and  opened  their  shells,  exposing  their 
luscious  bodies  to  view,  as  their  winged  enemies 
began  to  descend  for  their  morning  meal.  The  black 
foragers  came  on  in  clouds,  and  as  they  settled  down 
and  commenced  their  repast  the  shells  of  the  clams 
and  the  claws  of  the  lobsters  snapped  together  like 
steel  traps,  holding  their  miserable  victims  by  ties 


2/2    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

they  could  not  sunder.  There  they  were,  prisoners 
fast  bound.  And  their  angry  vociferations  and  strug- 
gles did  not  in  the  least  mollify  nor  intimidate  their 
captors.  .  .  .  The  next  tide  rolled  up  upon  a 
silent  shore,  a  death-strewn  shore,  and  retired,  leaving 
a  deep  line  of  black  many  leagues  in  extent. 

Thus,  according  to  the  artless  account  coming  down 
from  the  wondrous  age  of  that  mythical  grandfather, 
were  the  Indians  relieved  from  the  devastations  of 
the  pestiferous  crows ;  and  so  were  the  clams  and 
lobsters,  whose  precious  lives  had  for  years  been  in 
constant  danger,  and  innumerable  multitudes  of  whom 
had  actually  fallen  victims. 

The  occurrence  shows  that  even  the  poor,  benighted 
and  despised  clam,  when  driven  to  extremity,  like 
every  breathing  creature,  may  turn  upon  the  invader 
of  his  rights  in  a  manner  and  with  a  success  altogether 
unanticipated.  There  is  nothing  so  mean  as  to  be 
forever  trampled  on  with  impunity.  The  clams  had 
never  assented  to  the  proposition  that  they  were 
created  for  crow-meat ;  though  I  never  heard  of  their 
rebelling  against  the  demands  of  the  chowder-pot  or 
frying-pan,  put  forth  in  a  legitimate  way.  Indeed 
the  gentle  cook  will  bear  me  out  in  saying  that  they 
have  been  known  to  sing,  as  their  bleaching  shells 
opened  in  the  last  gasp.  And  the  virtuous  lobster 
is  famed  for  his  tunefulness  as  he  is  soused  in  the 
boiling  cauldron,  and  the  red  flush  of  death  is  stealing 
over  him.  The  Indians,  however,  it  must  be  conceded, 
were  a  little  ungrateful,  after  their  miraculous  relief 
from  threatened  starvation  ;  for  they  carried  off  great 
baskets  of  the  bivalves  before  they  had  time  to  retire 


'WHOLESOME  PROVISIONS.  273 

from  the  field  of  their  conquest.     But  such  is  the 
usual  fate  of  the  weaker  ally. 

A  profound  silence  followed  this  second  narration 
of  Arrow  John.  They  sat,  gazing  meditatively  into 
the  fire,  and  taking  long-drawn  whiffs  at  the  pipes. 
But  presently  they  were  startled  beyond  measure  by 
a  dead  wild-cat  coming  pounce  down  the  chimney, 
followed  by  a  spiteful  little  live  porcupine.  Up  they 
sprang,  in  terrible  fright.  And  as  the  door  flew 
open  two  or  three  rascally  Indians  were  discovered 
shying  off  in  the  darkness.  They  were  evidently  the 
contrivers  of  that  brilliant  little  piece  of  mischief,  and 
thought  they  were  playing  a  brave  joke  by  thus 
unceremoniously  presenting  their  zoological  speci- 
mens. They  had  no  difficulty  in  ascending  the  roof 
of  the  house,  for  it  sloped  down  to  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  ground.  But  a  more  dangerous  piece  of  roguery 
than  that,  did  those  waggish  Indians  accomplish 
before  their  hasty  departure,  as  will  soon  appear. 

Things  were  again  quiet,  and  Arrow  John  arose  to 
depart.  But  on  being  much  urged  he  paused  to  give 
an  account  of  a  tree  which  in  the  time  of  his  grandfa- 
ther grew  on  Noddle's  Island  —  now  East  Boston  — 
so  tall  that  its  top  could  not  be  seen,  and  so  large 
that  its  branches  overspread  the  whole  island ;  and 
which  bore  walnuts  larger  than  the  head  of  a  buffalo. 
Another  prolonged  whistle  from  Mr.  Child  followed, 
and  the  pertinent  inquiry,  "  And  how  did  they  crack 
such  nuts  ? "  This,  the  company  evidently  thought  a 
hard  nut  for  the  Indian  himself  to  crack.  But  he, 
perceiving  their  purpose,  without  the  least  hesitancy 
replied  that  he  never  heard  they  were  cracked. 
L*  18 


2/4    HI.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

All  eyes  were  now  suddenly  turned  toward  the 
outer  door.  Extraordinary  sounds  were  heard.  First 
it  seemed  as  if  some  powerful  arm  were  beating  a 
chain  on  the  stone  door-step  ;  then  there  was  a  heavy, 
unearthly  breathing ;  then  an  awful  scratching  on 
the  boards ;  other  and  indescribable  sounds  being 
interspersed.  Consternation  began  to  prevail.  Mr. 
Gott  gasped  out  something  about  the  devil  being 
attracted  by  the  profane  song. 

The  landlord,  feeling  a  becoming  responsibility  in 
the  matter,  cautiously  and  with  the  long  broom  handle 
raised  the  latch.  A  strong  gust  swung  the  door  wide 
open,  and  in  strode  a  great  chub-faced  bear,  bringing 
an  armful  of  his  own  chain.  In  an  instant,  every 
thing  that  had  legs,  excepting  Arrow  John  and  the 
inanimate  household  articles,  put  them  to  use. 

Mr.  Gott  was  up  astride  the  trammel-bar  in  a  trice  ; 
and  there  he  would  have  slowly  roasted  or  become 
bacon  had  not  the  fire  now  burned  low.  Secretary 
Rawson  was  in  the  oven,  with  the  door  closed,  his 
nose  only  protruding  from  the  vent.  Others  were 
astride  the  beams  that  traversed  the  upper  air  of  the 
apartment,  though  how  they  could  have  got  there 
without  flying  was  a  mystery.  It  is  however  said 
that  fear  lends  wings ;  and  they  probably  borrowed 
of  her. 

Several  had  time  to  dodge  into  the  adjoining  front 
room,  with  the  women.  In  short  they  had  all,  in  an 
amazingly  brief  period,  disposed  of  themselves  in 
places  of  apparent  safety  ;  though  bruin,  by  standing 
erect  could  have  reached  some  of  their  heels.  But 
he  made  no  attempt  to  bring  about  a  collision  of 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  2/5 

forces  ;  for  he  was  perfectly  good-natured,  as  people 
generally  are  when  there  is  a  feast  before  them. 
What  he  might  have  done,  however,  had  they  been  in 
his  way,  or  opposed  his  helping  himself  to  the  dainties, 
is  not  certain,  as  it  turned  out  that  he  had  but  recently 
been  introduced  to  civilized  society,  from  his  native 
woods.  He  had  been  chained  to  a  tree  in  the  back 
yard,  but  the  roguish  Indians  who  had  introduced  the 
wild-cat  and  porcupine  through  the  chimney,  had  set 
him  loose. 

Arrow  John  remained  immovable  in  his  seat,  with 
steady  eye  upon  the  beast ;  the  beast,  on  his  part, 
keeping  a  sharp  look-out  upon  the  Indian,  who  grunt-  * 
ed  out  in  snatches :  "  Bear  no  hurt,  look  um  in  eye. 
No  scare,  no  hug,  no  scratch.  Keep  um  seat.  Bear 
look,  I  look.  No  hurt.  Smoke,  sneeze  um." 

As  bruin  demurely  traveled  the  room,  dragging  his 
chain,  it  seemed  as  if  he  were  looking  out  for  a  subject 
on  which  to  try  his  linked  ornament ;  but  he  kept 
pausing  to  curiously  examine  objects  of  interest  that 
came  in  his  way.  A  large  iron  kettle,  from  which  a 
luscious  squirrel  stew  had  been  dipped,  attracted  his 
attention ;  he  popped  his  nose  into  it,  gave  a  low 
growl,  and  passed  on  to  overturn  the  blue  dye  pot, 
and  set  the  liquor  free  to  run  wherever  it  would. 
But  nothing  seemed  to  interest  him  so  much  as  Mr. 
Hills's  breeches,  which  hung  drying  in  the  chimney 
corner.  He  evidently  concluded  that  they  belonged 
to  an  enemy ;  for  the  snap  and  snarl  with  which  he 
finally  turned  from  them,  indicated  a  desire  to  meet 
the  lawful  occupant  in  open  field. 

As  he  stood  on  the  hearth,  now  lifting  one  foot 


2/6    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

and  then  another,  to  avoid  roasting  either,  he  seemed 
to  suspect  that  there  was  game  up  chimney.  He 
thrust  his  head  forward  over  the  embers,  as  far  as  he 
conveniently  could,  and  cocking  his  blinking  eye  up, 
expressed  his  conviction,  whatever  it  was,  by  shaking 
his  head  and  clanking  his  chain.  This  greatly  fright- 
ened Mr.  Gott,  who  from  his  sooty  perch  shrieked  for 
help,  in  good  earnest,  evidently  not  considering  where 
help  could  come  from.  But  a  puff  of  smoke  oppor- 
tunely ascended  into  the  animal's  face,  and  sent  him 
sneezing  away. 

Going  up  to  the  table,  he  mounted  on  his  hind  legs, 
and  standing  upright,  took  a  general  survey,  his  glis- 
tening eyes  expressing  great  satisfaction  at  what  they 
beheld.  The  tallow-dips  were  sadly  in  want  of  snuf- 
fing, and  one,  more  impudent  than  the  rest,  sent  its 
offensive  vapor  right  up  his  nose,  causing  a  horrible 
explosion  in  his  sneezing  apparatus,  which  made  a 
bad  piece  of  work,  as  he  had  no  pocket  handkerchief 
with  him.  From  a  general  survey  he  presently  pro- 
ceeded to  particulars. 

A  trencher  of  stewed  pumpkin  first  secured  his 
observation,  and  he  tried  its  quality  by  thrusting  his 
dexter  paw  into  its  midst  and  raking  out  a  few  mouth- 
fuls,  which  he  ate  with  great  relish.  Then  an  iron 
pan  met  his  prospecting  gaze,  and  the  same  useful 
paw,  brought  heavily  down  on  the  edge,  tipped  it 
over,  sending  forth  a  quart  or  two  of  cool  gravy,  a 
portion  of  which  he  lapped  up  with  unfeigned  gusto. 
Then  passing  along,  supporting  himself  in  his  erect 
position  by  his  paw  on  the  table,  he  came  to  a  platter 
of  boiled  pork,  but  seemed  puzzled  to  make  out  what 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS. 


it  was,  though  he  had  seen  pigs  and  been  plagued 
enough  by  them  during  his  sojourn  in  the  back  yard  ; 
however,  he  thrust  in  the  same  old  paw,  but  instantly 
withdrew  it  with  a  jerk  so  violent  as  to  send  a  two 
pound  lump  flying  over  his  head  and  smashing  a 
plaster  image  on  the  mantel.  The  pork  had  been 
taken  hot  from  the  kettle,  just  as  he  came  in,  and  its 
temperature  was  such  that  even  a  bear  could  not 
handle  it  with  impunity.  Moving  along  a  little,  he 
paused  to  regale  himself  on  some  cheese,  johnny-cake, 
and  artichokes.  And  then  a  pot  of  wild  honey,  the 
pure  delight  of  all  bears,  was  appropriated,  with  extra- 
ordinary greediness. 

Edging  along  again,  he  happened  to  espy  a  huge 
iron  pan  piled  up  with  well-picked  bones  and  gristly 
morsels  ;  and  reaching  over,  he  drew  the  promising 
freight  toward  him.  One  snuff  elicited  a  roar  that 
well  nigh  shook  some  of  the  terrified  members  from 
their  roosts.  That  terrible  roar,  and  the  ferocious 
scratch  that  succeeded,  were  sufficient  evidence  that 
the  bones  of  some  of  his  own  kindred  had  been  dis- 
covered. Can  a  Christian  man  imagine  what  his 
own  feelings  would  be,  if  in  some  savage  land  he 
should  find  among  the  fragments  left  after  a  cannibal 
feast,  the  remains  of  one  of  his  dear  kindred  ?  Then 
may  he  have  some  conception  of  the  feelings  within 
that  woolly  bosom,  on  this  occasion.  Such  discov- 
eries would  naturally  create  different  manifestations 
m  different  temperaments  ;  in  some  rage,  in  others 
fear,  in  others  again  sickening  disgust.  But  how  was 
it  here,  with  bruin  ?  Rage,  rage,  was  the  first  thing 
depicted  on  his  countenance.  He  glared  around  and 


2/8    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

upward,  with  the  most  savage  look  he  could  com- 
mand ;  making  some  of  his  enemies  tremble  lest  he 
might,  after  all,  find  means  to  finish  his  meal  on 
their  precious  bodies.  Arrow  John  found  it  neces- 
sary, while  the  excitement  continued,  to  "look  um 
in  eye,"  very  closely. 

But  after  the  first  ebullition,  the  bear's  feelings 
appeared  to  undergo  an  entire  change  —  insupportable 
dejection  succeeding  rage.  He  laid  his  head  upon 
his  paws,  and  seemed  dissolving  in  grief,  still  eyeing 
the  dreadful  dish.  After  remaining  thus  in  bitter 
contemplation  for  a  few  minutes,  he  slowly  let  himself 
down  on  all-fours,  and  with  a  desperate  spring  through 
the  door  —  which  Arrow  John  had  slyly  set  ajar  with 
the  mop-stick,  some  minutes  before  —  rushed  off  into 
the  outer  darkness. 

After  the  flight  of  bruin,  the  exiles  began  speedily 
to  return.  And  they  appeared  in  generally  good  con- 
dition. Secretary  Rawson,  however,  emerged  from 
the  oven,  in  a  coat  of  ashy  gray,  and  Mr.  Gott  from 
the  chimney  in  a  coat  of  sooty  black.  The  rather 
comical  episode  in  the  exercises  of  the  evening,  fur- 
nished new  subjects  for  discussion.  Mr.  Gott,  of 
course,  persisted  in  declaring  that  the  intruder  was 
the  devil,  and  went  so  far  as  to  allege  that  when  he 
stood  upon  the  hearth  he  saw  him  spit  out  sparks 
of  fire  ;  and  no  one  disputed  him  ;  for  he  was  such  a 
mass  of  soot  that  every  one  was  disposed  to  avoid 
contact  with  him,  even  in  argument.  Mr.  Rawson 
was  cheerful  and  merry  after  he  had  beaten  the  ashes 
from  his  garments  and  relieved  his  limbs  from  the 
cramps  and  kinks. 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  279 

The  most  weighty  discourse  that  followed  during 
the  evening  was  on  the  necessity  of  the  Court  passing 
some  order,  forthwith,  to  restrain  the  keepers  of  public 
houses  from  harboring  so  many  of  those  four-footed 
favorites.  Almost  every  tavern,  high  or  low,  had  a 
bear  or  two  chained  somewhere  about  the  premises. 
They  perhaps  added  something  to  the  entertainment 
of  the  guests,  though  they  could  not  have  added 
much  to  the  safety.  Bears'  claws  are  rather  danger- 
ous play-things  ;  and  even  the  best  taught  of  the 
animals  will  sometimes,  through  absent-mindedness, 
put  them  to  a  natural  use.  There  were  few  sources 
of  public  amusement  at  that  period ;  and  even  the 
tricks  of  a  bear  afforded  something  of  that  of  which 
every  vital  man  on  earth  needs  a  little,  viz.,  fun  — 
fun,  without  which  the  whole  sensorium  will  stagnate, 
sour,  and  mould.  But  the  Court  interfered  with  the 
reign  of  the  bears,  soon  after  this  unmannerly  dis- 
turbance, passing  such  orders  as  seemed  necessary  to 
restrain  their  audacity.  And  those  pet  adjuncts  of 
good-fellowship  began  one  by  one  to  disappear. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  legislative  assem- 
blies that  a  certain-  degree  of  dignity  and  decorum 
should  be  preserved.  It  never  answers  to  proceed  in 
a  loose,  slip-shod  way,  amid  disorder  and  inattention. 
The  reason  why  every  thing  reaches  such  a  satisfac- 
tory result  in  the  United  States  Congress,  for  instance, 
may  be  found  in  the  fact  of  their  having  such  whole- 
some rules  and  so  rigidly  enforcing  them  ;  and  the 
reason  of  those  wholesome  rules  being  so  easily 
enforced  there,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  members  are 


28O    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

so  cordially  loving  toward  each  other,  so  honorable, 
so  courteous,  so  faithful  to  their  trusts  —  such  bright 
legislative  jewels. 

By  a  stately  demeanor  and  mysterious  air  of  dignity, 
many  an  ignoramus  has  passed  for  a  philosopher. 
And  in  assemblies  of  men,  something  to  befog  and 
magnify  a  little,  in  the  imagination,  is  useful.  Law 
courts,  especially,  must  assume  a  proper  measure  of 
dignity,  and  put  on  some  airs  of  the  majestic  order, 
to  inspire  a  healthful  dread  in  the  minds  of  culprits. 
And  it  is  questionable  whether  the  departed  big  wigs 
and  gowns  could  not  be  recalled  to  the  bench  with 
profit. 

Among  the  records  of  the  General  Court,  from  the 
earliest  times,  we  find  evidence  of  a  tender  regard  for 
decorum  in  the  proceedings.  Witness  the  following  : 

"  Itt  is  ordered  y*  if  any  person  shall  take  any 
tobacco  wthin  the  room  where  the  Courte  is  sitting, 
he  shall  forfeite,  for  every  pipe  so  taken,  6^ ;  & 
if  they  shall  offend  againe,  in  contemning  this  whole- 
some order,  he  shallbe  called  to  ye  barr  for  his  delin- 
quency, &  pay  double  his  fyne."  [Court  Records, 
Nov.  4,  1646. 

The  tobacco  business  made  a  good  deal  of  trouble 
for  the  early  legislators.  They  did  not  understand 
the  use  and  effects  of  the  article  so  well  as  the  people 
of  this  day  do,  for  it  was  a  comparatively  new  power 
in  the  domestic  economy,  questionable  and  disturbing. 
The  Indians  consumed  large  quantities  of  the  coarser 
kinds,  and  did  it  in  a  slovenly  way.  Their  pipes  were 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  28 1 

clumsy,  though  capacious  and  often  highly  ornament- 
ed, and  so  heavy  that  they  could  be  used  in  slings,  as 
missiles  of  war,  or  upon  their  lines,  as  sinkers,  in 
deep  water  fishing. 

The  settlers  chewed  a  good  deal,  and  their  turbid 
ejections  were  so  freely  dispensed  that  delicate  sto- 
machs had  not  far  to  look  for  occasions  of  offence. 
In  winter,  the  long  beards  of  the  beaux  glistened 
with  the  little  brown  bugles  in  a  manner  at  once 
picturesque  and  filthy.  They  also  smoked  a  great 
deal  more  than  did  them  good.  And  some  of  them 
took  enough  poor  snuff  to  fill  every  vacant  chamber 
in  their  heads,  and  quarrel  for  quarters  with  the 
brains  themselves. 

There  were  earlier  enactments  restraining  the  use 
of  tobacco,  which  may,  perhaps  not  improperly,  be 
noticed  here,  though,  as  the  reader  will  observe,  we 
are  just  now  speaking  of  matters  which  have  special 
reference  to  the  Court  itself: 

"  It  is  further  ordered,  that  noe  person  shall  take 
any  tobacco  publiquely,  vnder  paine  of  punishm1 ; 
also  that  euery  one  shall  pay  }d-  for  every  time  hee  is 
convicted  for  takeing  tobacco  in  any  place."  [Court 
Records,  Oct.  3,  1632. 

"  .  .  .  .  Victulars,  or  keepers  of  an  ordinary, 
shall  not  suffer  any  tobacco  to  be  taken  in  their 
howses,  under  the  penalty  of  vs-  for  euery  offence,  to 
be  payde  by  the  victuler,  &  xij*'-  by  the  party  that 
takes  it."  .  .  .  "  Further,  it  is  ordered,  that 
noe  person  shall  take  tobacco  publiquely,  under  pen- 
alty of  ijj-  vj^-,  nor  privately,  in  his  owne  howse,  or  in 


282          III.      THE   WORKERS    AND   THEIR   WORKS. 

the  howse  of  another,  before  strangers,  &  that  two  or 
more  shall  not  take  it  togeather,  any  where,  vnder 
the  aforesaid  penalty  for  euery  offence."  [Court  Re- 
cords, Sept.  3,  1634. 

But  the  prohibitory  tobacco  laws  were  repealed, 
and  reenacted,  and  modified,  from  time  to  time,  for 
many  years.  The  matter  indeed  seems  to  have  been 
as  difficult  to  manage,  politically,  as  the  liquor  traffic 
is  in  our  times.  But  it  is  hardly  fitting  to  pursue  the 
nuisance  farther,  in  this  place. 

Let  us  now  take  a  glimpse  at  their  enactments 
concerning  the  privileges  and  privations  of  speech- 
makers  : 

"  It  is  ordered  that  if  any  member  of  the  Court 
shall  begin  any  speech,  while  another  is  speakeing, 
to  interrupt  the  former,  hee  shall  forfect  iij-  vi^  for 
every  offence."  [Court  Records,  Sept.  3,  1634. 

And  again : 

"  It  is  ordered  yl  noe  member  of  this  howse  shall 
speake  twice  to  one  case  att  one  time,  beefore  every 
one  (y*  will)  haue  spoken  on  ye  busines  in  hand,  and 
after  some  pawse  to  see  if  any  other  will  speake,  &  it 
is  att  ye  libertie  of  any  to  speake  agayne  wth  leaue 
from  ye  howse."  [Court  Records,  May  31,  1644. 

As  before  remarked,  every  legislature  is  afflicted 
with  a  greater  or  less  number  of  talkers,  those  who 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  283 

must  be  jumping  up  to  discharge  a  volley  of  words 
on  every  subject,  whether  they  have  any  acquaintance 
with  it  or  not.  These  are  thorns  and  brambles,  at 
which  the  foregoing  enactment  was  partially  aimed. 

One  reason  why  the  General  Court  was  regarded 
with  so  much  respect,  was  that  it  respected  itself,  and 
would  not  allow  its  authority  to  be  trampled  on  with 
impunity  —  would  not  allow  the  political  ranter  to  rait 
at  and  reproach  it,  as  might  suit  his  convenience  in 
covering  up  his  own  corrupt  trail,  as  a  vicious  law- 
yer will  charge  his  failure  in  some  dishonest  service 
to  the  stupidity  or  depravity  of  judge  or  jury,  hitting 
any  where,  with  any  charge,  so  that  he  set  himself 
right  with  his  bewildered  client.  That  blessed  priv- 
ilege of  lampooning  rulers,  so  precious  in  the  sight 
of  the  people  of  this  day,  we  repeat,  was  denied  to  our 
fathers.  Observe  what  justice  was  meted  out  by  the 
following  order : 

"  Mr  Wm  Aubery  havinge  vsed  some  reproachful! 
speeches  concerninge  the  Gen11  Court,  it  was  ordered, 
that  the  sd  Aubery  should  be  seuerely  reproued  in 
open  Court,  &  make  a  publicke  acknowledgment  of 
his  reproachfull  speeches,  or  be  bound  to  the  good 
behavior  dureing  the  Courts  pleasure,  which  he  per- 
formed accordingly."  [Court  Records,  May  23,  1655. 

And  again,  a  few  years  subsequent : 

"Frauncis  Smith,  for  his  contemptuous  &  false 
speech  in  the  Generall  Court,  is  sentenced  to  be  sett 


284    HI.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

in  the  stocks  by  ye  marshal!,  for  one  whole  hower." 
[Court  Records,  May  28,  1659. 

Francis  was  himself  a  member  of  the  Court,  and 
perhaps  fancied  that  he  had  a  right  to  defame  his 
fellow-members  as  much  as  he  pleased,  even  as  his 
right  hand  might  vilify  his  left.  And  he  was  evidently 
taken  aback  by  this  sentence ;  for  the  record  imme- 
diately adds : 

"  The  Court,  on  consideration  of  Frauncis  Smiths 
humble  acknowledgem1  of  his  sinfull  carriage,  judge 
meet,  instead  of  the  punishment  of  the  stocks,  to 
order  yl  twenty  shillings  be  taken  as  a  fine." 

It  is  evident  that  the  ignominy  of  the  stocks  was  the 
thing  of  dread  here,  for  he  could  not  have  earned  the 
amount  of  the  fine  in  four  days.  And  this  supports 
the  argument  before  stated,  that  for  many  of  the 
petty  offences  that  are  treated  in  our  inferior  courts, 
the  punishment  of  the  stocks  would  be  more  effectual 
than  any  that  can  be  awarded  under  our  existing 
laws.  And  the  punishment  would  fall  just  where  it 
should.  Cases  every  day  occur  in  our  police  courts, 
in  which,  for  instance,  an  old  toper  is  fined  five  dollars 
for  over-indulgence.  He  has  no  money  to  pay  his 
fine,  for  all  he  had  has  gone  into  the  till  of  the  rum- 
seller.  So  his  poor  wife,  or  son,  or  daughter,  out  of  a 
hard  earned  pittance  discharges  the  fine  to  save  the 
husband  or  father  from  being  shut  up  in  prison.  And 
does  the  punishment,  in  that  way,  fall  just  where  it 
should  ?  Or  if  he  manages  to  pay  the  fine  himself, 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  285 

it  is  so  much  taken  from  the  slender  support  of  h»s 
family,  for  such  unworthy  persons  generally  manage 
to  have  families  if  nothing  else.  No  man  is  so  far 
sunk  in  dishonor  as  to  have  no  pride  left.  And  the 
disgrace  of  a  public  exposure  in  the  stocks  is  of  all 
things  a  pride-crusher.  The  stocks  are  understood 
to  have  been  abolished  as  a  cruel  punishment.  But 
how,  cruel  ?  There  is  nothing  like  physical  torture 
about  them  ;  and  a  little  punishment  to  the  feelings 
of  those  who  have  no  regard  for  the  feelings  or  rights 
of  others,  does  not  appear  outrageous.  Sentiment  is 
a  very  good  thing  in  its  place ;  but  a  police  court 
seems  hardly  to  be  its  place. 

A  curious  case  of  punishment  by  confinement  in 
the  stocks,  by  the  way,  occurred  at  Boston,  in  June, 
1639.  Edward  Palmer  had  built  the  stocks  for  the 
town,  and  been  paid  what  was  claimed  to  be  a  reason- 
able sum.  But  the  matter  somehow  got  before  the 
General  Court,  and  they,  without  ceremony,  adjudged 
the  price  exorbitant,  and  passed  the  following  order : 

"Edward  Palmer,  for  his  extortion,  takeing  i'-  i$s- 
?<*-,  for  the  plank  &  woodwork  of  Boston  stocks,  is 
fined  $t-,  and  censured  to  bee  set  an  houre  in  the 
stocks."  [Court  Records,  June  6,  1639. 

The  fine,  however,  was  "  remited  him  to  IOS  wch 
hee  pd."  The  poor  man  must  have  been  greatly 
astonished  to  find  himself  the  first  one  judicially 
required  to  test  the  strength  and  comfort  of  his 
erection,  besides  being  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of 
more  than  three  times  the  amount  of  his  bill.  He 


286    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

must  have  felt  it  a  hard  lesson.  But  it  is  not  easy  to 
perceive  wherein  the  claim  was  so  very  exorbitant. 
It  is  not,  of  course  possible  now  to  .determine  exactly 
what  such  a  piece  of  work  was  then  worth,  as  com- 
pared with  charges  of  the  present  day  ;  but  if  it  were 
done  even  in  a  rough  way,  it  could  not  now  cost  less 
than  twenty  dollars  ;  and  those  who  serve  the  public 
are  not  usually  expected  to  be  more  favorable  in  their 
charges  than  those  who  serve  individuals.  The  judg- 
ment of  the  Court,  however,  must  be  taken  as  right. 
And  the  affair  furnishes  an  apt  illustration  of  the 
remark  elsewhere  made,  that  the  public  was  not  at 
that  time,  as  now,  deemed  a  fat  goose,  ready  for  every 
one  to  pick. 

The  Court  was  evidently,  as  a  body,  strongly  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  its  duty  to  the  public,  and  a 
proper  abhorrence  of  the  dishonesty  of  not  rendering 
faithful  service.  But  there  were  individuals  who 
never  seemed  to  realize  their  duty ;  or  if  they  did, 
were  not  honest  enough  to  do  it.  The  pay  of  mem- 
bers, it  is  true,  was  a  mere  pittance ;  but  what  of 
that ;  every  one  owes  some  service  for  the  protection 
he  receives.  But  how  is  it  in  our  day  ?  The  legisla- 
tors are  well  paid,  in  one  way  or  another ;  at  least 
they  consider  it  so,  or  they  would  not  so  zealously 
seek  the  office.  But —  ....  Well,  well,  being 
very  good-natured,  we  have  no  charges  to  make,  and 
congratulate  the  various  constituencies  on  their  good 
fortune  in  always  electing  such  as  are  diligent  and 
faithful,  never  neglecting  their  public  duties  to  attend 
to  private  affairs  or  amusements.  For  them  to  do  so 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  28/ 

would  be  positively  dishonest ;  and  it  is  hoped  that  the 
allusion  here  will  not  be  taken  as  evidence  that  we 
consider  the  great  wrong  possible  in  any  member  of  so 
honorable  a  body  as  a  Massachusetts  legislature. 

The  following  discloses,  at  least  by  implication,  the 
delinquencies  under  which  our  fathers  sometimes 
suffered : 

"  It  being  of  great  concernment  to  the  publick 
weale  of  this  jurisdiction,  that  all  such  as  are  mem- 
bers of  the  General  Court  doe  constantly  attend  their 
respective  trusts  in  the  sajd  Court,  it  is  ordered  by 
this  Court  and  the  authority  thereof,  that  henceforth 
it  shall  not  be  lawfull  for  any  member  of  the  Generall 
Court  to  absent  himself  from  the  Court  wthout  licence 
of  both  houses  first  had  and  obtejned,  on  poenalty 
of  twenty  shillings  a  day,  and  for  the  first  fower  dayes 
of  the  Court  of  Election,  the  poenalty  to  be  as  in  the 
printed  law ;  and  that  there  may  be  a  due  observance 
hereof,  the  secretary  &  clarke  of  the  deputjes  shall, 
in  their  respective  places,  enter  in  their  daybooks  all 
defaults  made  by  any  of  the  members  of  either  house, 
&  before  the  rising  of  the  Court  present  the  same  to 
the  whole  Court."  [Court  Records,  May  15,  1667. 

It  is  not  to  be  assumed  that  at  the  present  day  the 
Court  is  destitute  of  rules  requiring  the  regular  at- 
tendance of  its  members ;  indeed  the  common  law 
governing  parliamentary  assemblies  would  be  suffi- 
cient. But  it  is  one  thing  to  have  rules,  and  another 
to  enforce  them.  And  what  are  laws  or  rules  good 
for  without  penalties  ?  And  what  are  penalties  good 


288    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

for  unless  they  are  enforced  ?  But  our  legislators  are 
all,  all  honorable  men,  and  can  we  not  trust  to  them  ? 
Undoubtedly  we  can.  Yet  we  cannot  somehow  avoid 
adding  that  if  a  reasonable  fine  were  imposed  on  all 
absentees,  and  collected,  the  state  treasury  would  be 
so  replenished  that  our  taxes  would  be  less. 

The  foregoing  was  not  the  first  enactment  on  the 
point  under  consideration.  More  than  twenty  years 
before,  the  following  order  was  passed  : 

"  It  was  ordered,  that  henceforward  noe  member 
of  this  howse  (vppon  any  pretence  of  businesse  wth 
any  man)  shall  absent  himselfe  from  ye  occasions 
thereof  wthout  leaue  first  graunted  from  ye  howse." 
[Court  Records,  May  30,  1644. 

As  to  the  decorum  of  the  House,  in  the  early  days, 
the  following  indicates  what  was  required  : 

"  Ordered,  that  henceforward  noe  member  of  this 
howse  shall  sitt  or  stand  wth  his  hatt  on  whiles  ye 
Speaker  is  propoundinge  any  vote."  [Court  Records, 
May  30,  1644. 

Something  of  the  management  of  the  internal 
affairs  of  the  House  and  pay  of  attendants  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following : 

"  Samuel  Greene  is  appoynted  &  chosen  an  officer 
to  attend  ye  dore  of  ye  Howse  of  Deputies  for  this 
Courte,  &  is  to  haue  2s-  per  day  wth  diett  &  lodg- 
inge."  [Court  Records,  May  30,  1644. 


WHOLESOME  PROVJSIOiSS.  289 

And  again : 

"  Itt  is  ordered  that  John  Marshall  shall  haue 
twenty  shillings  pajd  him  by  the  county  Tresurer  for 
clensing  the  Court  house,  drawing  of  wood,  making 
of  fire,  &c.,  for  ye  last  yeare."  [Court  Records,  Nov. 
12,  1659. 

But  Mr.  Marshall,  like  most  others  who  begin  to 
feed  on  government  pap,  soon  acquired  a  hankering 
for  a  larger  allowance.  His  pay  was  increased  to 
forty  shillings  ;  but  his  craving  still  increasing,  by 
that  on  which  he  fed  —  like  the  thirst  of  the  great 
beast  in  Arrow  John's  account,  who  drank  such  quan- 
tities of  salt  water  —  he  wrought  upon  the  Court,  till 
the  following  order  blessed  his  expectations  : 

"Whereas,  John  Marshall  hath  formerly  binn  al- 
lowed forty  shillings  a  yeare  for  his  seruice  during 
the  sitting  of  the  General  Court,  Court  of  Asistants, 
&  Council,  in  the  cleansing  of  the  house,  making 
fires,  he  complayning  y*  it  answers  not  his  time  he 
spends,  it  is  ordered  that  he  be  allowed  three  pounds  a 
yeare  for  time  to  come."  [Court  Records,  Oct.  9,  1667. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  lively  indignation  manifested 
by  the  Court  against  those  members  who  presumed 
to  stigmatize  its  authority  or  treat  with  disrespect 
their  fellow-members  ;  and  will  now  give  an  instance 
of  the  discipline  of  an  outsider  who  took  it  upon  him 
to  vilify  the  government  generally.  It  relates,  as  will 
be  observed,  to  a  very  early  period  : 

M  19 


III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 


"  It  is  ordered,  that  Thomas  Dexter  shalbe  sett  in 
the  bilbowes,  disfranchized  &  ffined  xK-  for  speakeing 
reproachfull  &  seditious  words  against  the  governm' 
here  established,  &  fmdeing  fault  to  dyvers  wth  the 
acts  of  the  Court,  sayeing  -this  captious  governm*  will 
bring  all  to  naught,  adding  that  the  best  of  them  was 
but  an  atturney,  &c."  [Court  Records,  March  4,  1633. 

Viewed  in  any  light,  this  punishment  was  severe. 
A  fine  of  forty  pounds  was  no  small  thing  in  those 
days.  And  then  the  ignominy  of  the  bilboes,  was 
hard  to  be  borne  by  one  of  Mr.  Dexter's  spirit.  But 
worse  than  all,  most  likely,  in  his  view,  was  the 
disfranchizement.  What  influence  his  derisive  charge 
that  "  the  best  of  them  was  but  an  atturney,"  had, 
we  do  not  know.  He  was  a  resident  of  Lynn,  and  a 
man  of  some  prominence,  though  it  is  judged  of  no 
great  influence.  It  appears  by  the  records  that  he 
was  much  in  the  law  ;  from  which,  perhaps,  he  derived 
the  experience  that  induced  him  to  slur  the  attorneys. 
He  was  the  same  individual  who  purchased  Nahant 
of  Black  Will,  an  Indian  chief,  for  a  suit  of  clothes 
and  a  jewsharp.  But  it  turned  out,  much  as  a  good 
many  other  land  speculations  have  turned  out.  After 
the  clothes  were  worn  out  and  the  jewsharp  broken, 
it  was  found  that  Will  never  had  a  title  to  the  land. 

Obdurate  contemners  of  authority,  either  in  state 
or  church,  were  sometimes  punished  in  a  singular  as 
well  as  severe  manner.  The  Radcliff  case  is  in  point  : 

"  It  is  ordered  that  Philip  Ratclifife  shalbe  whipped, 
have  his  eares  cutt  of,  fyned  4C/-  &  banished  out  of  ye 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  2QI 

lymitts  of  this  jurisdiccon,  for  vttering  mallitious  & 
scandulous  speeches  against  the  govm1  &  the  church 
of  Salem."  [Court  Records,  June  14,  1631. 

Here  was  another  instance  of  rigorous  punishment 
for  what  would  not,  at  this  day,  be  treated  as  a  mis- 
demeanor at  all.  Winthrop  says  that  Radcliff  was  a 
servant  to  Mr.  Craddock,  and  that  the  sentence  was 
immediately  executed — that  part  relating  to  the  whip- 
ping, cutting  off  the  ears  and  banishment,  probably, 
as  he  does  not  mention  the  fine.  And  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  so  humble  an  individual  could  have  raised 
so  much  money.  Perhaps  the  pecuniary  mulct  was 
remitted,  though  I  do  not  find  any  record  of  the  fact. 
It  is  singular  that  this  early  case  did  not  have  a  more 
decided  effect  in  restraining  the  inclination  to  award 
vindictive  punishments,  so  strongly  manifested.  It 
excited  a  good  deal  of  feeling,  not  only  here  but  in 
the  neighboring  jurisdictions,  and  was  denounced  by 
the  most  thoughtful  and  judicious  as  excessively 
cruel.  It  was  reported  in  England,  and  created  great 
indignation  there.  And  it  was,  in  reality,  one  of  the 
first  of  that  series  of  alleged  enormities  that  led  the 
home  government  to  open  a  jealous  eye  upon  the  colo- 
nists, and  which  finally  ended  in  that  accumulation 
of  accusations  which  enabled  the  public  accuser  to 
induce  the  English  High  Court  of  Chancery  to  issue 
a  writ  of  quo  warranto  "against  the  charter  and 
priuiledges  claymed  by  the  Gounor  and  Company 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  by  reason 
of  some  crjmes  and  misdemeanors  by  them  comitted." 
And  the  battle  against  the  Charter,  opened  by  the 


292    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

public  accuser  —  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the 
redoubtable  Edward  Randolph  himself —  did  not  ter- 
minate till  1684,  when,  at  Trinity  term,  as  the  reader 
will  not  need  to  be  informed,  the  chancery  court  gave 
their  celebrated  judgment,  cancelling  the  letters  pa- 
tent and  the  enrolment  thereof.  And  thus  did  the 
strong  arm  reach  over  the  water  and  ruthlessly  snatch 
away  the  great  colonial  idol,  regardless  of  indignant 
protests  and  humble  prayers. 

The  case  of  John  Stone  was  another  that  proved 
of  great  importance  in  its  results,  though  in  a  very 
different  way  from  Radcliff 's.  It  was  disposed  of  in 
the  Court  of  Assistants,  in  the  following  manner : 

"  Capt.  John  Stone  for  his  outrage  comitted  in 
confronting  authority,  abuseing  Mr  Ludlowe  both  in 
words  and  behavior,  assalting  him  and  calling  him  a 
justass,  &c.,  is  fined  c7-  &  prohibited  comeing  within 
this  pattent  wtbout  leaue  from  the  Goum1  vnder  the 
penalty  of  death."  [Court  Records,  Sept.  3,  1633. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  this  Capt.  Stone 
was  a  man  of  violent  temper  and  incorrect  habits ; 
and  his  fellow-settlers  were  not  to  be  blamed  for 
desiring  to  get  rid  of  him.  He  came  to  a  tragical 
end.  On  his  way  to  Virginia,  whither  he  directed 
his  steps  soon  after  receiving  his  sentence,  he  put 
into  the  Pequot  country,  where  he  at  once  got  into  a 
serious  quarrel  with  the  Indians,  which  resulted  in 
the  killing  of  himself  and  his  whole  company,  eight 
in  number.  And  singularly  enough,  the  destruction 
of  that  miserable  outlaw  —  who  had  been  forbidden 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  2Q3 

by  the  Court  to  again  show  his  face  in  the  Massachu- 
setts jurisdiction,  on  pain  of  death  —  was  urged  as 
one  of  the  pretexts  for  the  war  which  resulted  in  the 
utter  destruction  of  the  great  Pequot  nation.  How 
much  the  grim  pun  uttered  in  his  venomous  slander 
of  "just-ass"  Ludlow  had  to  do  with  intensifying 
the  sentence  does  not  appear.  It  seems  uncertain 
whether  the  hundred  pounds  fine  was  paid  ;  but  if  he 
had  sufficient,  it  was  probably  secured.  That  amount, 
however,  may  well  be  considered  as  a  decent  fortune, 
for  those  days. 

Then  there  was  the  case  of  John  Lee,  another 
reprobate  contemner  of  those  in  authority,  though  his 
rank  offences  do  not  appear  to  have  been  confined  to 
one  particular  line : 

"  It  is  ordered  that  John  Lee  shalbe  whipt  &  ffiyned 
xK-  for  speakeing  reproachfully  of  the  Govnr,  sayeing 
hee  was  but  a  lawers  clerke,  &  what  vnderstanding 
had  hee  more  than  himselfe  ;  also  taxinge  the  Court 
for  makeing  lawes  to  picke  mens  purses  ;  as  also  for 
abuseing  a  mayde  of  the  Govnrs,  pretending  love  in 
the  way  of  marriage,  when  himselfe  professes  hee 
intended  none ;  as  also  for  intiseing  her  to  go  with 
him  into  the  cornefeild."  [Court  Records,  Oct.  6, 1634. 

In  the  above  case  we  have  a  specimen  of  what  the 
lawyers  call  duplicity  —  a  grouping  together  in  one 
information  of  different  offences.  And  it  is  difficult 
to  determine  which  were  intended  to  be  punished  — 
or  if  the  whole,  which  with  the  greatest  severity. 
There  was  slander  of  the  Governor,  slander  of  the 


294    m-   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

Court,  and,  apparently,  breach  of  a  marriage  contract, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  equivocal  intent  in  the  entice- 
ment into  the  cornfield.  But  the  proceeding  furnishes 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  summary  manner  in  which 
known  rogues  and  suspected  individuals  were  dealt 
with  in  those  days.  And  from  a  sentence  of  this 
Court  no  appeal  was  allowed.  But  looking  back  to 
the  charge  that  the  Court  made  "  lawes  to  picke 
mens  pockets,"  we  are  led  to  ask  what  in  mercy's  name 
would  the  people  of  our  time  do  if  they  could  not 
scold  and  rant  about  such  things  with  the  most  airy, 
yea,  windy,  freedom. 

Having  thus  spoken  of  Wholesome  Provisions  con- 
cerning the  management  of  the  government  and  the 
internal  discipline  of  the  Court  itself,  we  will  proceed 
to  add  something  about  Wholesome  Provisions  of 
a  different  sort.  While  the  Court  were  so  much 
exercised,  as  has  before  appeared,  on  the  question 
of  procuring  suitable  board  and  lodging  for  the  mem- 
bers, when  at  Boston  in  the  performance  of  their 
duties  —  some  being  forced  to  lead  an  almost  vagrant 
life,  picking  up  their  food  in  the  two  or  three  little 
bake-houses  and  cook-shops  about  the  town,  and 
lodging  wherever  they  could  find  decent  shelter  — 
various  orders  of  an  amusing  character  were  passed, 
intended,  as  far  as  possible,  to  relieve  their  necessities. 
The  inhabitants  should  have  been  ashamed  of  their 
inhospitality,  whether  it  arose  from  the  apprehension 
that  they  were  unequal  to  the  task  of  suitably  enter- 
taining such  dignitaries,  from  the  idea  that  they  were 
merely  servants  of  the  public  and  as  such  entitled 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  295 

only  to  servants'  treatment,  or  from  some  other  of  the 
causes  before  suggested.  They  were  not  only  inhos- 
pitably treated  in  the  way  named,  but  subjected  to 
divers  kinds  of  petty  cheats,  and  reasonably  felt  much 
aggrieved  at  the  manner  in  which  their  little  pay  was 
picked  off.  I  must  think  that  in  the  following  — 
though  a  wholesome  provision  for  the  general  good  — 
the  Court  had  an  eye  to  the  protection  of  its  members  : 

"  John  Stone  &  his  wife  were  admonished  to  make 
biger  bread,  &  to  take  heede  of  offending  by  making 
too  little  bread  hearafter."  [Court  Records,  Nov.  5, 
1639. 

This  John  Stone  was  a  baker,  and  lived  on  the 
bushy  lane  that  finally  developed  into  Hanover  street, 
his  house  being  near  the  present  Union  street.  His 
bakery  was  connected  with  his  dwelling,  which  was 
an  unpretending  ten-footer,  without  clapboards  or 
paint,  and  had  the  great  oven  bulging  out  like  an 
enormous  wart,  from  the  rear.  It  was  a  singular 
oversight  of  the  colonial  architect  to  place  the  oven 
in  so  exposed  a  situation,  where  the  accidents  of 
weather,  if  nothing  else,  might  greatly  damage  it. 
On  cold,  blustering  days,  it  must  have  been  very 
difficult  to  heat  it,  or  to  keep  it  hot  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  after  the  fire  had  been  drawn,  had  there  not 
been  a  heavy  embankment  of  earth  thrown  over  it. 
And  that  embankment  proved  a  luxurious  nestling 
place  for  the  early  spring  flowers,  called  into  life  by 
the  genial  warmth  below  and  the  auxiliary  sun  above. 
And  upon  it,  too,  the  modest  dandelion  loved  to 


296         III.      THE   WORKERS   AND   THEIR  WORKS. 

spread  its  young  leaves  and  golden  rosettes,  submis- 
sively yielding  in  return  its  tender  life  to  the  knife 
of  the  gatherer  of  greens. 

There  was  a  little  groggery  some  rods  off  from  the 
bakery,  toward  the  water,  which  usually  turned  out, 
about  midnight,  half  a  score  or  so  of  balmy  topers  ; 
and  some  of  these,  too,  when  the  weather  was  cold, 
sought  the  genial  vicinity  of  the  oven,  lounging  about 
it,  and  occasionally  prostrating  themselves  upon  it  to 
avoid  perishing.  There  they  would  continue  their 
drowsy  disputations  till  sufficiently  restored  to  venture 
home.  And  generally  if  a  belligerent  neighbor  or 
strolling  bruiser  were  spoiling  for  a  set-to,  he  could 
find  some  one  there  willing  to  accommodate  him. 

Why  Mrs.  Stone  was  censured  by  the  Court,  in 
connection  with  her  husband,  does  not  appear,  for 
she  was  one  of  those  docile  wives  who  always  find  it 
expedient  to  do  the  bidding  of  their  lords.  And  he 
was  one  of  those  grandiose  husbands  who  make  it  a 
point  very  early  to  impress  upon  their  wives  the  fact 
that  they  are  to  be  captain  of  the  ship  matrimonial, 
managing  all  the  concerns  and  assuming  all  the 
responsibilities.  She  knew  her  position  if  the  Court 
did  not,  her  first  lesson  having  been  received  even 
before  the  first  quartering  of  the  honey  moon ;  a  lesson 
rendered  all  the  more  impressive  from  having  been 
given  in  presence  of  a  considerable  company  of  her 
astonished  relatives.  She  had  slightly  disobeyed  an 
order  respecting  the  browning  of  some  barley  loaves, 
when  he  caught  her  by  the  nape  of  the  neck,  and 
derisively  declaring  that  she  had  never  been  properly 
baked,  and  that  now  was  a  good  time  to  have  the 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  2Q7 

matter  attended  to,  forced  her  head  so  far  into  the 
hot  oven  that  her  hair  was  crisped  to  the  very  crown. 
And  pressing  her  nose  upon  the  glowing  stones  he 
so  grievously  burned  that  member  that  it  ever  after 
continued  to  be  a  reminder  of  the  danger  of  opposing 
the  marital  authority  to  which  she  had  at  the  nuptials 
promised  obedience.  The  Court  had  official  cogni- 
zance of  that  discourteous  act,  and  hence,  one  would 
have  thought,  might  have  considered  her  as  acting 
under  such  duress  as  would  have  rendered  her  irre- 
sponsible in  the  matter  of  scanting  the  loaves. 

Mr.  Stone  was  a  covetous,  surly  man,  but  cleanly 
and  attentive  to  business.  He  succeeded  in  getting 
the  ill-will  of  his  neighbors  at  the  same  time  that  he 
got  their  custom,  for  they  were  not  foolish  enough  to 
punish  themselves  for  the  sake  of  making  him  wince 
a  little  under  the  retributive  rod.  He  made  some 
wheat  bread,  and  his  barley  loaves  and  corn  cakes 
gained  such  a  reputation  as  was  the  envy  of  every 
ambitious  housewife.  In  summer  he  experimented 
successfully  with  berries  of  the  various  kinds  that  the 
Indian  maids  brought  in,  in  great  profusion.  He 
sometimes  drove  rather  hard  bargains  with  them,  to 
be  sure,  for  they  did  not  know  the  value  of  their 
own  merchandize,  nor  of  that  which  was  offered  in 
exchange.  A  farthing  sweet-cake  would  perhaps  pur- 
chase half  a  peck  of  luscious  blackberries.  But  Sunny 
Wave  found  him  out ;  and  then  he  was  less  successful 
in  his  cheats  ;  for  she  was  constantly  on  the  alert  to 
warn  her  friends,  and  teach  them  something  of  what 
they  would  encounter  in  their  traffic  with  white  men 
in  general,  and  Mr.  Stone  in  particular,  who  she 
M* 


298    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

declared  would  "  cheat  um  head  off,"  if  an  opportu- 
nity offered. 

Mr.  Stone's  berry  cakes  became  known  to  every 
thrifty  dame  who  had  occasion  to  go  beyond  her  own 
skill  in  purveying  for  her  company  table.  And  then 
his  pumpkin  bread  —  that  too  became  famous,  and 
many  a  loaf  won  its  way  even  to  the  governor's  table, 
though  his  own  good  wife  made  pretension  to  great 
accomplishment  in  the  art  of  cooking. 

The  business  of  Mr.  Stone  was  so  extensive  that 
at  times,  for  a  month  together,  he  was  obliged  to 
employ  a  journeyman  and  a  boy  in  the  bakery.  The 
journeyman,  who  occupied  a  portion  of  his  valuable 
time  on  the  cobbler's  bench,  always  held  himself  in 
readiness  to  respond  to  a  call  from  Mr.  Stone.  He 
was  a  lusty  young  fellow,  and  had  early  taken  to 
sparking  a  buxom  maid  employed  about  the  bakery ; 
a  circumstance  which  perhaps  explains  his  readiness 
to  serve  there  ;  for  his  pay  was  small  and  grudgingly 
doled  out  in  stale  bread  ;  while  the  lingual  abuse 
was  liberal.  Another  fact  showing  the  great  success 
of  the  business  is  that  it  was,  as  a  general  thing, 
necessary  to  keep  two  wheelbarrows  on  the  move,  to 
supply  customers. 

The  barley  loaves  formed  a  sort  of  standard.  And 
it  was  to  them  that  the  Court  order  was  intended 
especially  to  apply.  He  declared  in  his  answer  that 
the  same  weight  of  meal  was  in  them  that  there  ever 
had  been  in  loaves  of  the  same  style,  but  they  seemed 
smaller  on  account  of  not  being  so  distempered  and 
puffed  up  with  yest.  That  seemed  reasonable.  And 
as  the  discussion  waxed  warm  in  the  House,  members 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  299 

found  a  good  opportunity  to  exhibit  their  skill  in 
the  important  but  difficult  art  of  bread-making.  It 
was  impossible  for  some  to  make  others  understand 
the  superiority  of  good  solid  bread  over  the  bloated, 
sham,  yest-puffed  article  that  had  begun  to  pervert 
the  taste  of  the  people  and  gratify  their  sinful  sto- 
machs. Did  not  the  Jews  eat  unleavened  bread  ?  it 
was  significantly  asked.  And  were  they  not  a  stiff- 
necked,  rebellious  people  ?  was  the  triumphant  reply. 
Finally,  to  obviate  the  whole  matter,  and  at  once 
arrive  at  a  fair  conclusion,  the  Court  fell  back  upon 
the  ever-ready  scape-goat,  a  committee  of  investiga- 
tion. They  forthwith  appointed  such  a  body,  with 
full  power  to  send  for  persons  and  bread.  And  with 
great  discretion  the  committee  arranged  to  hold  their 
preliminary  session  at  the  bakery,  notifying  Mr.  Stone 
accordingly. 

Now  legislative  committees  are  proverbial  for  their 
fidelity,  intelligence,  and  incapacity  for  being  swayed 
by  bribes  or  blandishments  —  for  being,  in  short, 
absolutely  rock-bound  against  every  illegitimate  influ- 
ence or  offering.  But  they  have  stomachs  ;  and  sto- 
machs are  independent  powers,  as  despotic  and  quite 
as  unruly  as  tongues,  though  not  perhaps  liable  to 
be  set  on  fire  by  the  same  kind  of  kindling.  Mr. 
Stone  was  philosopher  enough  to  comprehend  all 
these  things  ;  and  comprehending  them,  he  set  about, 
on  receiving  the  notice,  to  prepare  an  entertainment. 
Taking  the  world  as  it  runs,  a  man  is  safer,  when  he 
has  a  favor  to  secure,  in  applying  to  the  stomach 
than  the  head.  There  is  more  solid  argument  in  a 
nice  beef-steak  than  in  the  best  prepared  rhetoric ; 


3<X>         III.      THE   WORKERS   AND   THEIR   WORKS. 

and  if  the  head  cannot  understand  it,  it  is  certain 
that  the  stomach  can.  We  hear,  even  in  scripture, 
of  bowels  of  compassion  ;  but  I  think  nothing  is  said 
about  brains  of  compassion.  Perhaps  Mr.  Stone 
remembered  this  when  he  set  about  preparing  his 
banquet. 

But  whatever  Mr.  Stone's  persuasives,  views,  or 
motives  were,  the  eyes  of  the  committee  fairly  glis- 
tened when  they  beheld  the  preparations  made  for 
them.  They  found  the  floor  of  the  bakery  swept  as 
clean  as  birch  broom  could  make  it,  the  meal-chest 
nicely  covered  with  a  cloth  of  bleached  tow,  and  the 
clean-ribbed  molasses  keg  in  the  corner,  benignantly 
smiling  upon  the  modest  yest-jar.  The  table  on 
which  their  repast  was  to  be  served  was  drawn  up  in 
front  of  the  great  oven  wherein  already  crackled  an 
enormous  pile  of  faggots  ;  and  the  dame,  arrayed  in 
her  best  attire,  was  marshaling  the  white  maple- 
wood  trenchers  upon  it,  with  here  and  there  a  shining 
pewter  dish. 

Obsequiously  did  Mr.  Stone  greet  the  dignitaries, 
who  advanced  with  the  air  of  ministers  plenipoten- 
tiary, and  invited  them  to  at  once  commence  their 
examination  ;  supplementary  intimating  that  some 
humble  hospitality  would  await  them  at  the  close 
of  their  labors.  He  pointed  to  the  kneeding-trough, 
the  yest-jar,  the  scales  ;  and  then,  with  a  circular 
turn  of  the  arm,  which  seemed  to  be  intended  as  a 
sort  of  and-so-forth  movement,  covering  the  whole 
premises,  he  turned  to  his  work  as  if  he  were  the 
least  concerned  of  them  all,  as  to  what  discoveries 
might  be  made.  They  moused  around  for  a  while, 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  $01 

and  when  it  got  to  be  setting-in  time  the  fire  was 
allowed  to  die  away.  The  old  slice  was  wielded  so 
vigorously  that  scarcely  a  shade  had  passed  over  the 
bright  glow  of  the  oven  ribs,  when  all  was  ready  for 
the  grand  closing,  an  operation  which  the  committee 
were  very  curious  in  observing.  Near  the  mouth,  a 
savory  dish  or  two  that  needed  but  little  cooking, 
were  placed,  convenient  to  be  withdrawn  in  a  mo- 
ment, as  they  were  to  add  their  graces  to  the  banquet, 
the  chief  elements  of  which  had  been  for  some  time 
merrily  revolving  on  the  great  jack-spit  before  the 
kitchen  fire. 

In  the  course  of  their  examination,  the  committee 
had  the  luck  to  fall  upon  a  little  cupboard  which  was 
well  supplied  with  the  various  meritorious  drinkables 
of  the  day  —  sparkling  cider,  malt  liquors,  and  some 
of  the  still  more  energetic  beverages  from  the  stills 
of  Barbadoes.  And  that  cupboard  became  an  object 
of  such  peculiar  interest  that  they  kept  returning  to 
it,  sometimes  one  by  one  and  sometimes  in  a  body, 
so  frequently  that  it  soon  became  evident  to  Mr. 
Stone  that  their  research  had  developed  something 
with  which  they  were  peculiarly  pleased.  The  Salem 
member  was  observed  at  the  cupboard  rather  more 
frequently  than  the  others,  and  by  degrees  he  became 
very  mirthful,  cutting  up  odd  pranks  of  various  kinds. 
Every  now  and  then  he  would  salute  the  host  with  a 
ringing  slap  on  the  back,  and  greet  him  as  an  honest 
fellow,  who  never  in  his  life  stinted  a  loaf,  and  who 
should  have  a  report  that  would  leave  him  whiter 
than  his  finest  wheat  loaf.  And  then  he  would  be 
seized  by  an  irresistible  inclination  to  try  his  musical 


3O2    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

powers,  favoring  them  with  -songs  and  snatches  much 
better  fitted  for  the  groggery  below  than  the  respect- 
able precincts  of  the  bakery.  He  jumped  up  and 
swung  on  the  door  till  he  came  near  wrenching  it 
from  its  hinges  ;  and  in  divers  other  similarly  eccen- 
tric ways  gave  vent  to  the  exuberance  of  his  spirits. 

Presently  he  went  out  and  began  to  perambulate 
the  surroundings,  keeping  his  friends  advised  of  his 
whereabouts,  by  an  occasional  startling  vociferation. 
Finally,  however,  there  came  an  interval  of  ominous 
silence.  And  then  came  vehement  outcries ;  wild 
screeches,  which  made  those  within  fear  that  some 
dire  calamity  had  fallen  upon  him.  They  rushed  out 
as  soon  as  a  lighted  lantern  could  be  procured  —  for 
it  was  now  dark  —  and  found  him  mounted  on  the 
bulging  oven,  at  the  rear  of  the  house,  shouting  defi- 
ance to  imaginary  foes  who  were  attacking  his  imag- 
aginary  castle.  They  tried  to  calm  him  ;  but  their 
efforts  seemed  rather  to  increase  his  excitement.  At 
last  they  resolved  to  climb  up  and  take  him  by  main 
force,  lest  the  whole  neighborhood  should  become 
alarmed,  and  disgrace  settle  upon  them  all. 

Two  of  the  most  powerful  and  courageous,  there- 
fore, rushed  up  the  steep  side  of  the  oven  and  made 
an  attempt  to  seize  him.  But  he  had  no  idea  of 
surrendering  without  a  struggle.  And  they  at  once 
closed  in  with  him.  The  conflict,  though  of  momen- 
tary continuance  was  violent,  and  terribly  disastrous 
in  its  effects  ;  for  as  neither  party  seemed  disposed  to 
yield,  the  oven  itself  concluded  to.  The  whole  crown 
gave  way,  and  down  went  the  three  combatants  into 
the  fiery  bowels,  right  among  the  unsuspecting  loaves 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  303 

and  banquet  dishes.  It  was  a  terrible  disaster,  meas- 
ured by  the  character  of  the  property  destroyed,  but 
far  more  terrible  measured  by  the  amount  of  human 
agony  produced.  Yet  there  was  something  so  un- 
speakably ludicrous  in  it  that  Mr.  Stone  was  so  touched 
that  he  could  not  avoid  turning  to  the  wall,  uttering  a 
low  chuckle  and  muttering  something  about  Shadrach, 
Meshech  and  Abednego,  before  he  could  once  think 
of  doing  anything  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers.  But 
their  shrieks  soon  aroused  him  ;  and  not  only  him 
but  the  whole  neighborhood.  Mrs.  Stone  ran  tearing 
down  the  road  to  the  groggery,  summoning  every 
body  by  the  way  ;  and  soon  the  bakery  was  the  scene 
of  an  activity  that  spoke  most  favorably  for  the  human- 
ity of  the  people. 

The  unfortunate  gentlemen  were  speedily  extri- 
cated, though  in  a  fearfully  damaged  condition.  All 
the  doctors  were  summoned  ;  and  among  them  came 
divers  old  women  with  bundles  of  herbs.  Their 
burns  and  scalds  were  very  serious,  though  no  fatal 
results  followed.  It  is  said  that  it  is  an  ill  wind  that 
blows  nobody  good  ;  but  by  this  rule  that  was  an  ill 
wind,  unless  the  feast  afforded  the  pigs  and  poultry 
by  the  spoiled  comestibles  gives  it  a  different  charac- 
ter. The  sufferers  were  skillfully  bandaged,  and  as 
soon  as  possible  despatched  for  their  several  homes. 
But  a  comical  error  occurred  in  the  delivery.  They 
were  so  swathed  and  bound  up,  so  seared  and  peeled, 
so  discolored  and  disfigured,  that  it  was  difficult 
to  distinguish  one  from  the  other,  and  two  were  left 
at  the  wrong  places.  Nor  was  it  till  some  days  p.fter 
that  the  wives  ascertained  that  they  had  been  affec- 


304    HI.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

tionately  nursing  the  wrong  husbands.  The  mistake, 
however,  was  regarded  in  its  proper  light,  and  the 
patients  were  speedily  exchanged. 

The  oven  remained  in  its  dilapidated  condition  till 
the  Court  could  send  another  committee  to  estimate 
the  damages,  which  were  considered  a  proper  public 
charge.  What  the  bread  committee's  final  report 
was,  there  is  no  way  of  determining,  from  any  thing 
that  appears  on  the  records. 

The  Court  appointed  still  another  committee  to 
see  that  the  oven,  when  it  was  rebuilt,  was  safely 
constructed,  and  placed  beneath  the  roof.  It  was 
done  accordingly.  And  then  the  spring  flowers,  and 
the  dandelions,  and  the  topers  from  the  groggery, 
lost  their  warm  nestling  place. 

It  was  remarked  that  Mr.  Stone  made  some  wheat 
bread.  And  the  comely  white  loaves  were  held  in 
such  estimation  that  they  passed  as  currency,  depre- 
ciating with  age.  He  took  an  almost  childish  pride 
in  them,  and  was  so  overcome  when  the  Court  passed 
the  cruel  order  forbidding  those  of  his  trade  to  make 
wheat  bread,  that  he  sat  down  on  the  three  legged 
stool  before  the  oven  fire  and  relieved  himself  by  a 
hearty,  blubbering  cry.  The  prohibition  was  in  fact 
a  piece  of  patriotic  self-denial.  It  was  not  that  they 
did  not  love  the  nice  white  loaves,  but  that  they  could 
exchange  the  wheat  for  foreign  commodities  which 
they  had  not  other  means  to  purchase  —  articles  of 
prime  necessity  as  they  deemed  them  ;  such  as  rum 
and  molasses  from  the  West  Indies,  and  woolen 
cloths  from  England.  The  prohibitory  order  was  as 
follows : 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  305 

"  Forasmuch  as  it  appeareth  to  this  Court  that 
wheate  is  like  to  bee  a  staple  comodity  &  that  a  ship 
is  wth  all  convenient  speede  to  bee  set  fourth,  &  fraited 
wth  wheate,  for  the  fetching  in  of  such  foraine  comodi- 
ties  as  wee  stand  in  need  of,  it  is  therefore  ordered, 
that  after  the  last  day  of  this  present  8th  month  no 
baker,  ordinary  keeper,  or  other  person,  shall  bake  to 
sell,  or  set  to  sale,  any  bread  or  cakes  made  of  wheate 
meale,  or  wherein  any  wheate  meale  shalbee  put, 
upon  paine  to  forfeit  double  the  valewe  thereof.  And 
the  cunstables  of  every  towne  are  hearby  required  to 
see  that  this  order  bee  observed,  &  that  they  shall 
make  seizure  of  all  such  bread  so  set  to  sale,  &  dis- 
tribute the  same  to  the  poore."  [Court  Records, 
Oct.  7,  1641. 

Under  this  order,  the  poor  had  several  opportuni- 
ties to  taste  the  dainty  loaves  of  Mr.  Stone,  for  he 
persisted  in  producing  them  till  the  forfeitures  made 
such  inroads  on  his  profits  that  he  was  compelled  to 
relinquish  the  contest.  It  indeed  turned  out  with 
him  much  as  it  has  in  our  day  turned  out  with  many 
who  have  against  law  persisted  in  selling  intoxicating 
liquors — not  so  much  as  relates  to  Boston,  perhaps,  for 
the  humane  people  there  have  been  chary  of  interfering 
with  the  honest  traffic.  There  was,  however,  a  provi- 
sion that  it  should  "  bee  lawfull  for  any  to  make  or 
sell  any  biskit  of  wheate  meale  for  the  use  of  ships." 
And  under  this,  Mr.  Stone  long  continued  to  exercise 
his  skill  on  ship-bread. 

We  cannot  better  close  on  this  topic  than  by  giving 
a  brief  account  of  the  result  of  the  following  singular 

20 


3O6    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

though  eminently  judicious   Court  order  which  was 
passed  not  long  after  the  order  last  quoted : 

"  Ye  Corte  ordered  y*  a  prize  of  5^-  bee  pd  to  ye  maid 
or  houscwyfe  y*  shall  make  &  send  in  ye  best  sample 
of  bread,  by  ye  12  of  ye  next  moneth,  noe  wheate 
meale  being  usd."  [Pinion's  Journal. 

The  purpose  of  this  order  was  to  improve  the 
making  of  bread  generally,  and  to  show-  what  accept- 
able an  article  could  be  produced  without  the  use 
of  wheat  It  excited  great  emulation  among  the  ladies 
of  Boston.  The  order  was  not  limited  as  to  territory. 
But  the  country  dames  found  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  striving  for  the  prize,  though  a  good  number  en-tered 
the  list.  The  exhibition  day  was  evidently  a  day  of 
great  interest  and  great  expectations,  and  appears  to 
have  drawn  together  a  large  collection  of  people  from 
all  quarters  and  all  classes.  But  let  us  give  Mr. 
Pinion's  graphic  account  of  the  proceedings  : 

"  Wth  divers  boards  taken  from  ye  back  side  of  ye 
building,  wee  made  a  spatious  table  in  yl  middest 
of  yc  Corte  roome  floore,  whereon  ye  woemen  sett 
fourth  ye  dainty  loafs  ;  and  a  most  pretious  show  did 
they  make.  Som  were  bro*  in  baskitts,  som  on  tren- 
chers, som  on  platters  and  in  pans,  and  som  on 
squares  of  clean  hemlock  barque ;  and  many  were 
begirt  wth  flow's  and  green  twigs.  And  all  were  so 
neat  and  cleane  yl  y*  Govnr  was  forcd  to  say,  over  and 
over  againe  y'  hee  was  well  pleasd,  and  yl  ye  show 
boded  mch  good. 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  307 

"  Som  of  y*  loafs  were  made  of  corne  meale,  som 
of  barley,  and  som  of  oate  meale.  And  wth  ye  meale, 
in  som  was  wrought  boyld  pumpkin,  and  artichoke,  & 
dyvers  dry"3  berries,  and  other  savoury  meats.  But 
not  one  loaf  of  wheate  bread  was  there  among  ye 
whole,  save  that  Goodwyfe  Stone  must  needs  thrust 
in  a  big  dish  of  their  famous  shipp  bread,  wch  in  sooth 
is  mch  approved,  and  sought  after  even  by  ye  shipps 
from  England. 

"  Euery  loaf  had  ye  maker  hir  name  vppon  itt,  save 
one,  w**  had  a  place  nigh  ye  middest  of  ye  table,  and 
vf^  drew  ye  eyes  of  all.  Itt  was  ye  biggest  of  all,  and 
shapd  like  a  pearamidd  or  Indjan  lodge.  Itt  was  in 
a  curious  Indjan  baskitt,  nestling  amid  beauteous 
flowrs  ;  ye  baskitt  itself  being  so  richly  wrought  about 
w*  shells  and  shining  stones  and  wampum  strings, 
a.nd  so  fringed  around  wth  bright  feathers,  yl  ye  Govnr 
declared  itt  was  of  itself  a  wonderfull  show.  Butt 
noe  one  could  tell  where  itt  came  from,  ye  door  keeper 
saying  yl  hee  found  itt  just  wthin  ye  doore,  early  in  y6 
morning,  and  noe  one  by.  Ye  loafe  was  made  of 
pounded  corne,  as  was  surmisd,  finer  yn  any  mill 
hearabouts  could  grinde,  and  had  divers  small  fruits 
kneaded  inn.  And  itt  was  so  cleaverly  bakd  y1  som 
would  haue  itt  y*  itt  must  haue  com  from  Mr  Stone 
his  ovn.  But  hee  certifyed  to  ym  that  itt  did  nott, 
th°  hee  should  bee  proud  if  itt  had.  Mr  Gott  sayd  att 
once  y1  itt  was  ye  work  of  ye  devill,  and  butt  a  trapp 
and  snare  —  mayhap  ye  devill  his  very  sacramental 
bread.  And  he  warned  all  agaynst  tasteing  thereof. 
Whereuppon  ye  Govnr  sayd  y1  if  ye  devill  made  itt  hee 
would  be  right  glad  to  ingage  him  for  a  pastry  cook ; 


3O8    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

wcb  saying  brought  down  mch  laughter  vpon  Mr  Gott, 
to  his  great  chagreen. 

"  Whn  all  ye  loafs  hadd  been  bro1  in,  enow  time  was 
giuen  for  ye  woemen  &  all  others  to  examine  ym  &  see 
wherein  their  owne  might  bee  improvd,  and  to  talk 
over,  one  wth  another,  ye  whole  matter.  Then  ye 
membrs  all  stood  around,  and  ye  chairman  wth  a  bigg 
knyfe  cutt  first  one  loafe  and  then  another,  quicklie 
passing  ye  pieces  about  for  to  bee  examind.  And  all 
smelld,  and  tasted,  and  rolld  fragments  in  their  hands, 
and  exercisd  themselues  as  they  tho*  best,  till  sattis- 
fyed.  Then  they  were  calld  vpon,  one  by  one,  to  give 
in  their  judgments  as  to  w*  shd  take  ye  prize.  And 
euery  one  agreed  y*  ye  noble  loafe  in  ye  Indjan  baskitt 
shd  bee  ye  one. 

"  Butt  noe  body  cd  tell  who  bro1  ye  same,  till  y*  New 
Towne  membr  sayd  y*  comeing  in  earlie,  by  ye  light 
of  ye  moone  he  descried  an  Indjan,  wch  hee  took  to 
bee  Arrow  John,  dodging  about  neare  ye  Howse,  in 
y*  shadow  of  ye  trees,  and  haueing  something  in  his 
hands  mch  in  size  like  ye  baskitt  and  loafe  befoar  them. 
And  hee  surmisd  yl  ye  offering  they  all  soe  mch  won- 
dered att,  was  ye  handiworke  of  his  dafter  Sunny 
Wave,  who  hee  had  heard  Mr  Eliot  say  was  marvel- 
lous in  prepareing  meats.  Some  of  ye  dames  would 
not  believe  y*  an  Indjan  girle  could  soe  outdoe  ym  all, 
and  sayd  y1  itt  shd  bee  truely  known,  yl  shee  made 
ye  bread  befoar  ye  prize  was  giuen  to  hir.  Som  one 
saying  yl  Arrow  John  had  butt  then  passd  downe 
ye  roade  hee  was  sought  for  and  presently  bro*  inn ; 
and  being  certifyd  how  matters  stood,  with  mch  pride 
declar*1  yl  ye  loafe  was  indeed  Sunny  Wave  hir  make, 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  309 

whereto  Captain  Keayne  wd  bear  testimony,  as  shee 
made  it  in  his  kitchen.  They  being  all  sattisfyd,  y* 
chief  was  bidden  to  send  his  dafter  to  ye  Govnr  for 
y6  prize. 

"All  agreed  yl  mch  good  came  of  ye  show  ;  and  wee 
haue  had  aboundance  of  good  bread  evr  since.  God 
bee  praisd  for  our  good  bread  and  good  preaching ; 
and  may  wee  evr  haue  enow  of  both,  to  ye  sattisfying 
of  our  poore  starving  bodys  and  soules.  Amen." 

Thus  early  was  the  important  art  of  bread  making 
attended  to,  in  Boston.  And  "  Boston  bread  "  soon 
attained  an  enviable  reputation  ;  a  reputation  which 
has  been  maintained  to  this  day.  And  wo  be  to  the 
abandoned  wretch  who  shall  be  the  first  to  give  way 
to  the  temptation  to  tarnish  that  estimable  reputation. 

Extravagance  in  food  received  the  reprehension 
of  the  Court  at  an  early  period.  The  making  of  good, 
wholesome  bread,  as  we  have  seen,  was  encouraged. 
But  rich  cakes  and  fancy  breads  were  held  in  high  dis- 
favor ;  chiefly,  no  doubt,  on  account  of  the  cost.  The 
following  order,  passed  two  years  before  the  admoni- 
tion to  Mr.  Stone,  is  the  only  sample  of  legislation  on 
the  subject  that  can  now  be  given : 

"  It  is  ordered,  also,  that  no  person  shall  sell  any 
cakes  or  buns,  either  in  the  markets  or  victualling 
houses,  or  elswheare,  vpon  paine  of  xj-  fine  ;  provided 
that  this  order  shall  not  extend  to  such  cakes  as  shal- 
bee  made  for  any  buriall,  or  marriage,  or  such  like 
speciall  occation."  [Court  Records,  Nov.  20,  1637. 


3IO    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

Still  another  kind  of  Wholesome  Provisions  which 
received  the  attention  of  the  Court  was  that  which 
related  to  "  braverie  of  apparrall,"  and  other  personal 
decorations.  And  to  that,  for  a  short  time,  we  must 
direct  attention.  Mr.  Pinion  remarks  : 

"  Ye  Cote  must  needes  keepe  passing  orders  about 
braverie  in  apparrall,  weareing  of  long  haire,  and  big 
boots,  ye  cutt  of  garments,  and  such  like,  till  manie 
do  grievously  complaine,  y*  they  haue  noe  libertie 
of  their  owne  bodys,  whl  they  shall  eate,  whl  they 
shall  drincke,  or  whl  they  shall  putt  on.  [Pinion's 
Journal. 

Much  discussion  has  been  held  and  will  no  doubt 
be  held  in  all  future  time  as  to  the  expediency  or 
propriety  of  any  legislative  body  undertaking  to  limit 
the  taste  and  personal  expenditures  of  individuals,  or 
regulate  any  of  the  smaller  matters  of  the  domestic 
economy. 

People  must  differ  in  these  things,  for  they  are 
endowed  with  different  tastes,  desires,  and  propensi- 
ties —  loves,  hopes,  and  fears.  And  so  long  as  there 
is  nothing  criminal  manifested,  why  not  allow  the 
largest  liberty  ?  Example  is  something,  to  be  sure ; 
but  are  not  moral  restraints  better  than  legal,  in  these 
matters  ?  Some  are  naturally  generous,  others  cov- 
etous ;  some  industrious,  others  indolent ;  some  neat, 
others  slovenly ;  some  refined,  others  gross ;  some 
proud,  others  humble  ;  some  amiable,  others  waspish. 
And  again :  some  love  beef,  others  mutton  ;  some 
admire  long  hair,  others  short ;  and  so  on,  through 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  311 

an  endless  catalogue.  And  it  seems  unreasonable 
to  attempt  to  compel  all  to  conform  to  one  rule. 
What  to  a  parsimonious  mind  would  seem  extrava- 
gance might  to  a  liberal  one  seem  the  very  reverse. 
And  while  one  has  no  aspirations  for  any  thing  better 
than  delving  on  for  the  sake  of  gaining  riches  to  hoard 
up,  his  neighbor  may  pity  his  mean  infatuation,  and 
strive  for  himself  to  gain  those  higher  enjoyments 
which  are  only  attainable  through  virtuous  principles 
and  mental  cultivation.  The  delver  might  consider 
twelve  hours  too  short  a  day  for  manual  labor,  while 
the  other  might  deem  eight  hours  too  long. 

But  right  or  wrong,  the  General  Court  did  at  an 
early  day,  attempt  to  regulate  the  domestic  and  per- 
sonal affairs  of  the  settlers  in  a  way  that  would  at 
this  day  occasion  some  loud  scolding,  to  say  the  least. 
To  them,  however,  these  concerns  commended  them- 
selves as  of  leading  importance.  They  were  founding 
a  new  community,  and  in  their  experimental  adjusting 
of  the  parts,  were  naturally  anxious  and  curious  in 
details.  Some  of  the  sumptuary  laws  of  the  Colony 
which  are  by  most  people  passed  over  as  only  worthy 
of  being  perused  for  amusement,  really  furnish  matter 
worthy  of  serious  pondering.  And  it  may  be  fairly 
questioned  whether  the  General  Court  at  the  present 
day,  though  it  does  up  the  thing  in  a  rather  more 
genteel  way,  is  not  constantly  interfering  with  affairs 
of  a  mere  private  character,  which  would  much  better 
regulate  themselves.  And  it  might  be  further  ques- 
tioned whether  a  season  closes  without  the  passage  of 
acts  which  if  carefully  considered  in  all  their  bearings 
would  not  appear  quite  as  absurd  as  any  we  shall 


312    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

quote  from  the  ancient  records.  But  it  should  be 
constantly  borne  in  mind  that  what  may  appear  inap- 
propriate and  ridiculous  at  one  time,  may  at  another 
seem  fit  and  reasonable. 

The  chief  purpose  of  the  following  order,  so  far  as 
it  relates  to  apparel,  seems  to  have  been  to  prevent 
extravagance.  But  the  wearing  of  long  hair  must 
have  been  prohibited  from  another  cause  ;  and  I  sup- 
pose that  was,  its  being  deemed  immodest  and  hea- 
thenish. In  the  absence  of  some  reason  beyond 
supposed  immodesty,  we  do  not  see  why  they  might 
not  as  well  have  passed  an  order  forbidding  people  to 
scratch  their  own  heads.  But  the  law  evidently  failed 
to  extinguish  the  dishonored  custom,  for  in  1649  the 
Governor  and  Assistants  signed  a  protest  against  the 
then  prevailing  custom  of  wearing  long  hair,  "  after 
the  manner  of  ruffians  and  barbarous  Indians." 

"  The  Court,  takeing  into  consideracon  the  greate, 
superfluous,  &  vnnecessary  expences  occacioned  by 
reason  of  some  newe  &  imodest  fashions,  as  also  the 
ordinary  weareing  of  silver,  golde  &  silke  laces,  girdles, 
hatbands,  &c.,  hath  therefore  ordered  that  noe  person, 
either  man  or  woman,  shall  hereafter  make  or  buy 
any  apparell,  either  wollen,  silke,  or  lynnen,  with  any 
lace  on  it,  siluer,  golde,  silke,  or  thread,  vnder  the 
penalty  of  forfecture  of  such  cloathes,  &c.  Also,  that 
noe  person  either  man  or  woman,  shall  make  or  buy 
any  slashed  cloathes,  other  than  one  slash  in  each 
sleeue,  and  another  in  the  backe  ;  also,  all  cuttworks, 
imbroydered  or  needle  worke  capps,  bands,  &  rayles, 
are  forbidden  hereafter  to  be  made  or  worne,  vnder 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  .  313 

the  aforesaid  penalty  ;  also  all  golde  or  silver  girdles, 
hattbands,  belts,  ruffs,  beavr  hatts,  are  prohibited  to 
be  bought  &  worne  hereafter,  vnder  the  aforesaid 
penalty,  &c.  Moreouer  it  is  agreed,  if  any  man  shall 
iudge  the  weareing  of  any  the  forenamed  particulars, 
newe  fashions,  or  longe  haire,  or  any  thing  of  the  like 
nature,  to  be  vncomely,  or  prejudicall  to  the  comon 
good,  &  the  party  offending  reforme  not  the  same 
vpon  notice  giuen  him,  that  then  the  nexte  Assistant, 
being  informed  thereof,  shall  haue  power  to  binde  the 
party  soe  offending  to  answer  it  att  the  nexte  Courte, 
if  the  case  so  requires  ;  provided  &  it  is  the  meaneing 
of  the  Court  that  men  and  women  shall  haue  liberty  to 
weare  out  such  apparell  as  they  are  nowe  provided  of, 
(except  the  imoderate  greate  sleeues,  slashed  apparell, 
imoderate  greate  rayles,  longe  wings,  &c.)"  [Court 
Records,  Sept.  3,  1634. 

Under  the  operation  of  the  "forfecture"  clause, 
quite  a  store  of  finery  seems  to  have  accumulated  on 
the  hands  of  the  official  at  Boston  into  whose  custody 
the  forfeited  articles  went.  And  there  is  an  account 
of  a  crazy  woman,  who,  in  ransacking  about,  one 
Sunday  morning,  lit  upon  the  place  of  deposit,  and 
not  being  able  to  resist  the  opportunity  to  make  a 
sensation  among  the  fashionables,  proceeded  at  once 
to  array  herself  in  the  most  extraordinary  manner. 
Gold  bands  and  gay  ribbons  adorned  her  head,  which 
also  bore  an  enormous  embroidered  cap,  from  beneath 
which  dangled  tails  of  divers  colored  hair,  reaching 
half  way  down  her  back.  Slashed  sleeves,  which  she 
had  ruthlessly  torn  from  a  rich  dress,  encased  her 
N 


3 14    HI.  .  THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

arms.  A  broad  silver  girdle  encircled  her  waist  A 
pair  of  scarlet  silk  gloves,  glittering  with  golden  stars, 
were  upon  her  hands.  And  upon  her  feet  she  drew 
a  pair  of  men's  boots,  of  enormous  size,  all  gayly 
ornamented  with  figures  and  stitching  of  yellow  and 
red  and  green,  the  pointed  toes  turning  up  more  than 
half  an  ell.  It  was  wonderful  how  she  managed  even 
to  walk  in  such  a  harness.  But  off  she  strode,  with 
arms  swinging  and  head  proudly  erect,  straight  for 
the  meeting-house.  Daintily  lifting  her  skirts  suffi- 
ciently high  to  afford  a  glimpse  of  her  gold-wrought 
garters,  she  sped  along,  and  eluding  the  vigilance 
of  the  sexton,  suddenly  as  an  apparition  appeared  in 
the  midst  of  the  congregation.  Looking  about,  she 
piped  out  "  Ay,  make  broad  your  phylacteries  !  Fash- 
ion before  godliness  ! "  Then,  happening  to  cast  her 
eyes  upon  the  up-staring  boot  toes,  she  added  in  a 
still  louder  voice,  "  Toes  up  for  dancing  !  Fun  before 
preaching ! " 

The  old  men  opened  their  drowsy  eyes,  and  the 
young  folk  began  to  twitter.  The  minister  stood 
aghast.  But  the  pompous  old  tything  man,  having  a 
responsibility  in  the  matter,  was  instantly  on  his  feet. 
Irreverently  exclaiming  "  I'll  broad  phil-hactery  you, 
you  wild  bedlamite ! "  he  sprang  toward  her  with  a 
readiness  evincing  a  determination  to  do  his  whole 
duty,  which  in  this  case  he  had  a  good  relish  for,  as 
she  had  continued  for  a  long  time  to  hold  him  up  as 
a  mark  for  unmeasured  lingual  abuse,  and  had  even 
once  got  him  into  the  stocks  by  so  provoking  him 
that  he  knocked  her  over  a  log.  She  perceived  his 
purpose,  as  he  started  toward  her,  and  adroitly  elud- 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  315 

ing  his  grasp,  rushed  up  one  aisle  and  down  another, 
her  newly-donned  finery  flaunting  in  the  faces  of  the 
amused  worshipers,  right  and  left.  He  pursued  with 
all  his  might,  puffing,  and  limping  with  his  lame  leg. 
But  if  he  was  a  natural  cripple,  she  had  made  herself 
an  artificial  one  by  the  unwieldy  boots  she  had  equip- 
herself  with  ;  and  so  the  race  was  about  equal.  At 
every  interval  when  she  could  gain  breath,  she  would 
shriek  out  some  venomous  slander  or  damaging  truth 
touching  her  pursuer,  which  stimulated  him  to  still 
more  energetic  effort.  And  had  it  not  been  for  the 
sanctity  of  the  time  and  place,  no  doubt  the  parties 
would  have  been  spurred  on  still  further  by  partisan 
plaudits  and  cheers. 

And  so  she  led  him  on  in  an  exciting  chase  about 
the  house,  till  at  length  the  open  door,  lying  in  their 
route,  she  dodged  out,  and  sped  off,  up  the  lane,  he 
still  pursuing ;  the  two  presenting  rather  an  excep- 
tionable spectacle  for  holy  time.  How  long  the  race 
would  have  continued,  or  where  it  would  have  led  to, 
no  one  can  tell,  had  it  not  been  brought  to  an  abrupt 
termination  by  his  hitting  his  foot  against  a  stump 
and  precipitating  himself  violently  forward,  his  head 
dashing  into  a  cluster  of  sturdy  young  oaks  that  had 
sprung  up  from  the  stump  of  their  departed  mother. 
They  readily  separated  for  the  ingress  of  the  head, 
but  spitefully  closed  up  as  soon  as  it  was  there,  and 
obstinately  refused  to  yield  for  its  egress.  And  there 
he  was,  as  firmly  held  as  ever  poor  wight  in  the  pil- 
lory. It  was  one  of  those  extraordinary  accidents 
that  will  occasionally  occur  —  an  illustration  of  the 
fact  that  men  do  sometimes  find  themselves  suddenly 


3l6    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

and  by  most  unexpected  means  in  very  tight  places. 
He  gave  a  shriek,  which  caused  the  woman  to  turn 
around.  In  a  moment  she  seemed  to  comprehend 
his  misfortune  ;  and  then  all  her  womanly  symathies 
were  excited.  She  hastened  to  him  and  endeavored 
to  release  him  from  his  strange  imprisonment ;  but 
her  strength  was  insufficient,  as  it  needed  that  he 
should  be  lifted  bodily.  He  was  simply  a  prisoner, 
however,  suffering  no  particular  torture.  Yet  he  was 
completely  in  the  power  of  his  old  adversary,  and  did 
not  know  what  insane  promptings  might  lead  her  to 
do.  She  however  manifested  nothing  but  kindly 
feeling,  and  as  she  could  not  extricate  him  tried  to 
make  him  comfortable  where  he  lay.  But  looking 
down  upon  his  old  crippled  leg,  her  curiosity  became 
uncontrollably  excited.  She  had  derisively  imitated 
the  locomotive  vagaries  of  that  hampered  limb  many 
and  many  a  time,  at  the  street  corners,  to  the  edifi- 
cation of  mirthful  boys  and  chagrin  of  its  owner.  It 
was  now  in  her  power ;  but  she  only  stooped  down, 
gently  removed  the  shoe  and  stocking,  and  contem- 
plated it  in  all  its  withered  proportions.  Then  she 
felt  of  it,  tracing  the  sinews  along  the  leg  and  slowly 
working  the  toes,  he  lying  quietly  all  the  while,  prob- 
ably deeming  it  safest  to  make  no  motion  that  might 
cause  excitement.  Having  satisfied  her  curiosity,  and 
apparently  solved  a  question  that  had  for  years  dis- 
turbed her  dreams,  she  carefully  drew  on  the  stocking 
and  replaced  the  shoe.  Then  she  arose,  and  without 
uttering  a  word,  hastened  off  for  assistance,  presently 
returning  with  a  couple  of  neighbors. 

The  prisoner  was  soon  released.     And  as  he  arose 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  317 

to  his  feet,  her  excitement  returned  in  all  its  vigor, 
and  she  darted  off  at  the  top  of  her  speed,  though 
none  pursued. 

After  this  adventure  a  more  safe  depository  for  the 
confiscated  toggery  was  speedily  procured.  It  does 
not  appear  whether  the  articles  so  surreptitiously 
obtained  by  the  insane  woman  were  ever  recovered, 
excepting  the  big  boots,  which  were  picked  up  in  the 
road,  she  having  kicked  them  off  early  in  her  out-door 
flight. 

Under  the  clause  which  allowed  such  as  were 
already  possessed  of  the  proscribed  articles,  the  privi- 
lege of  wearing  them  out,  many  continued  to  appear 
in  peacock  attire,  till  the  last,  being  very  careful  in 
repairing.  Indeed  the  fable  of  the  boy's  jacknife  had 
many  illustrations. 

It  may  be  a  wonder  with  some,  how  any,  in  that 
day  of  limited  means  and  small  skill,  could  obtain 
such  rich  apparel.  Of  course  it  was  chiefly  import- 
ed ;  some  they  brought  with  them,  and  some  was 
sent  over  by  adventurous  speculators,  in  an  unfin- 
ished condition,  to  be  further  wrought  here.  A  little 
lace  was  made  by  hand,  and  some  embroidery.  No 
doubt  much  time,  in  the  aggregate,  was  wasted  by 
the  young  ladies,  over  fancy  work.  And  it  was  not  a 
matter  that  could  be  viewed  without  grief  by  the 
authorities  set  to  watch  the  interests  of  a  community 
circumstanced  as  this  then  was  ;  a  community  where- 
in it  was  necessary  that  all  should  do  their  utmost  in 
some  useful  avocation.  Our  time  presents  a  very 
different  aspect  of  affairs.  But  it  may  not  be  imper- 


3l8    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

tinent  to  ask  if  young  ladies  now  do  not  occasionally 
waste  an  hour,  that  they  might  more  enjoyably  spend 
in  some  beneficial  labor.  Nay,  are  there  not  those 
who  never  try  to  do  a  useful  thing  during  their  whole 
lives  ?  No,  indeed  ;  that  is  foul  slander ! 

A  few  years  after  the  last-quoted  enactment,  the 
matter  of  dress  was  again  before  the  Court.  Short 
sleeves,  great  breeches,  knots  of  ribbon,  and  other 
enormities  quite  as  worthy  of  reprehension  had  ap- 
peared, to  the  great  scandal  of  the  rulers. 

It  will  not  probably  be  deemed  entirely  unprofitable 
if  we  here  briefly  detail,  in  further  illustration  of  our 
subject,  an  incident  that  occurred  in  the  experience 
of  Nippy  Curlup,  the  tailor,  who  was  at  this  time 
vegetating  in  Boston,  but  who  was  the  same  individ- 
ual mentioned  on  page  233,  as  having  been  so  unce- 
remoniously submerged  by  Arrow  John  in  the  tub 
of  blue  dye  at  Mr.  Armitage's  tavern. 

This  Nippy  Curlup  was  a  little  crook-backed  fellow 
whose  shop  was  the  front  room  of  a  shabby  dwelling, 
which  stood  on  the  west  side  of  the  Roxbury  road. 
It  was  near  the  rail  fence  that  ran  across  the  neck, 
from  water  to  water,  on  the  boundary  line  between 
the  two  towns.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  speculation, 
by  the  way,  as  to  the  original  purpose  of  this  fence. 
Some  thought  it  was  put  there  to  keep  off  the  Rox- 
bury people  ;  but  if  that  were  the  object  it  must  have 
been  expected  that  it  would  be  accomplished  by  way 
of  hint  rather  than  barricade  ;  though  why  they  should 
want  to  keep  off  their  best  customers  and  best  pro- 
viders, is  unexplained.  It  was  there  for  no  such 
purpose,  but  no  doubt  simply  to  keep  off  the  Roxbury 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  319 

wolves.  True,  one  would  think  that  an  open  rail 
fence  would  afford  but  slight  protection  against  the 
incursions  of  such  depraved  though  ingenious  brutes  ; 
yet  it  was  a  fact  well  'known  to  the  settlers,  that 
wolves  and  even  foxes  were  extremely  shy  of  rail 
fences,  probably  taking  them  to  be  some  kind  of 
traps.  It  took  the  unsophisticated  brutes  of  America 
a  long  while  to  fathom  the  ingenious  devices  of  the 
European  settlers  for  their  destruction.  There  are 
the  crows,  who  sustain  a  high  reputation  in  the  world 
for  sagacity  ;  they  to  this  day,  dare  not  set  foot  in  a 
cornfield  around  which  is  drawn  a  simple  thread  at 
a  height  of  half  a  score  feet. 

There  was  an  evil  reputation  hanging  about  the 
neighborhood  in  which  Mr.  Curlup  was  located.  It 
was  reputed  to  have  been  the  scene  of  divers  witch 
revels  —  the  devilish  arts  of  witchcraft,  as  is  well 
known,  having  been  vehemently  suspected  long  before 
the  terrible  events  of  1692  ;  indeed  from  the  first 
days  of  the  settlement.  Cloven  foot-prints  had  been 
discovered  in  the  alder  copse  just  back  of  the  house. 
And  direful  smells  were  sometimes  encountered  by 
those  who  had  occasion  to  pass  that  way,  particularly 
on  a  summer  night,  when  the  tide  was  low.  And 
some  affirmed  that  on  warm  evenings,  when  in  the 
vicinity  they  had  frequently  heard  bullets  whiz  about 
their  ears  ;  and  not  hearing  the  report  of  any  guns, 
they  concluded  that  the  mysterious  skirmishers  must 
be  devils. 

Nippy  was  one  dull  evening,  just  after  dark,  seated 
in  artistic  fashion  on  his  shop  board,  working  away 
with  all  his  might  upon  a  modest  wedding  garment 


32O    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

which  his  fellow-townsman,  Philip  Grosse,  who  was  to 
be  married  in  a  few  days,  had  ordered.  He  had  more 
than  one  reason  for  being  anxious  to  get  the  work 
done  in  time  ;  the  pay  would  be  ample  and  prompt ; 
and  Grosse,  being  of  very  impatient  temper,  would 
not  be  likely  to  suffer  a  disappointment  with  much 
amiability  ;  indeed  on  the  bare  suggestion,  when  the 
measure  was  taken,  that  the  time  was  too  short  for 
such  a  piece  of  work,  a  threat  was  uttered  by  the 
expectant  groom  that  the  tailor  did  not  care  to  have 
executed. 

So  away  the  little  tailor  worked.  And  as  industry 
and  anticipated  reward  make  cheerful,  he  ventured 
upon  a  timid  whistle,  notwithstanding  certain  depress- 
ing reflections  and  apprehensions  conjured  up  by  the 
loneliness  of  the  place  and  dreariness  of  the  hour.  His 
single  little  tallow-dip  was  not  very  successful  in  its 
combat  with  the  gloom,  though  it  struggled  bravely, 
flaring  out  and  nodding  its  curling  black  plume,  and 
dissolving  in  greasy  tears  when  the  friendly  offices 
of  the  snuffers  were  withheld.  But  Nippy  was  too 
busy  to  attend  to  minor  affairs.  His  needle  now 
buried  itself  in  the  tortuous  seam  and  now  gleamed 
aloft,  often  with  such  energy  that  his  knuckles  struck 
against  the  adjacent  partition  ;  but  he  suffered  them 
to  knock  and  knock  again,  and  to  bleed,  and  smart, 
rather  than  take  time  to  move  a  few  inches  off. 

All  of  a  sudden  the  door  opened,  and  in  strode  a 
stalwart  and  piratically  habited  stranger,  with  a  large 
roll  under  his  arm.  He  had  a  heavy  grizzly  beard, 
long  matted  hair,  and  a  piece  of  dirty  sail  cloth  wound 
round  his  head  instead  of  a  cap ;  and  his  gait  was 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  321 

rolling,  as  if  he  were  recently  from  on  shipboard. 
He  threw  down  his  bundle  upon  the  shop-board,  and 
as  he  did  so  his  coarse  overcoat  flared  open,  and 
discovered  a  leathern  belt  in  which  were  thrust  two 
or  three  ugly  looking  weapons. 

Now  Nippy  was  an  ignorant  man  and  one  whose 
head  was  brim-full  of  all  sorts  of  grim  stories  of  ghosts, 
witchcraft,  piracies,  and  every  thing  that  pertained 
to  diabolism.  And  it  seemed  a  part  of  his  religion  to 
believe  them  all.  It  was  a  bad  locality  for  one  of  his 
cast  to  locate  in.  But  he  was  poor,  and  being  allowed 
to  occupy  the  place  on  easy  terms,  continued  there, 
hoping  that  better  times  would  come.  Hardly  a  night 
passed  without  something  occurring  to  disturb  ;  and 
his  arms  were  so  constantly  covered  with  goose-flesh 
that  it  is  a  wonder  pin-feathers  did  not  appear. 

His  first  impression  on  the  entrance  of  his  brusque 
visitant  was  that  he  had  now  a  supernatural  to  deal 
with.  His  whistle  ceased  and  his  tongue  stiffened. 
But  whoever  the  stranger  was  it  soon  became  evident 
that  he  meant  business.  Before  uttering  a  word,  he 
unrolled  his  bundle,  and  exhibited  materials  for  a 
garment  of  the  most  gorgeous  description.  Such 
precious  stuff  had  never  before  been  seen  in  that 
shop ;  and  the  very  candle  brightened  up,  in  vain 
effort  to  emulate  the  sparkling  gold.  The  cloth  was 
superb,  and  the  bright  colors  of  the  silken  ornaments 
were  almost  dazzling.  Nippy's  thoughts  now  fled 
from  his  dingy  shop  to  the  radiant  scenes  of  the 
apocalypse,  for  the  supernatural  would  work  itself  into 
his  contemplation,  in  some  way.  But  he  was  soon 
aroused  from  any  association  of  the  celestial  with  the 
N*  21 


322    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

individual  before  him ;  for  the  man  called  out,  in 
stentorian  tones  and  with  a  rough  oath  : 

"  Nippy  Curlup,  you  shall  make  me  a  doublet  and 
breeches  of  this  stuff,  and  have  them  done,  and  well 
done,  too,  by  next  Saturday  night.  That 's  the  order. 
And  if  you  fail  your  friends  will  have  to  call  the 
sexton." 

In  vain  did  the  poor  tailor,  stammering  and  in 
utter  confusion,  urge  his  previous  engagement,  and 
the  great  risk  he  would  run  of  losing  custom  if  he 
failed  ;  besides  the  probability  of  being  turned  out 
of  house  and  home,  as  the  work  was  for  his  landlord's 
son. 

"  It  is  indeed,"  he  meekly  continued,  "  my  neighbor 
Grosse  his  wedding  garment.  He  weds  the  smart 
young  widow  Stanpool,  as  all  the  town  doth  know. 
And  what  would  become  of  me  if  I  failed  in  the  work. 
Be  merciful,  master,  be  merciful." 

"  Mercy  be  d — d  ! "  roared  the  stranger,  "  and  Phill 
Grosse  too.  This  is  for  my  wedding  garment.  Now 
measure  —  measure  !  And  if  the  work  is  not  done 
in  time,  look  out  for  a  broken  head  pretty  near  your 
shoulders.  Come,  measure  —  measure ! " 

With  trembling  hands  the  terrified  tailor  proceeded 
to  apply  his  dirty  tape  to  his  customer's  ugly  propor- 
tions and  could  not  help  now  and  then  fancying  that 
he  discovered  a  supernatural  protuberance  or  defi- 
ciency ;  which  discoveries  did  not  greatly  tend  to 
allay  his  fears.  The  work,  however,  was  finally  ac- 
complished. 

Then  the  unwelcome  customer  stepped  so  close  to 
the  tailor  that  his  hot  breath  made  the  latter  jerk 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  323 

back,  and  bestowed  on  him  a  look  of  indescribable 
hideousness,  mingled  with  mischievous  merriment, 
and  ejaculated,  in  a  deep,  grum  voice  that  seemed  to 
proceed  from  his  body  rather  than  from  his  lips, 
"  Why,  how  you  tremble,  Nippy !  What  are  you 
scared  at  ?  No  harm  will  come  to  you  if  you  do  up 
your  work  right.  But  look  out  for  big  breakers  if  you 
do  n't.  That  is  my  wedding  garment ;  and  I  marry 
a  princess.  There,  there,  man,  go  and  get  something 
to  cheer  up  ! " 

So  saying,  he  threw  a  ringing  silver  coin  on  the 
shop-board  and  vanished. 

The  meditations  of  the  amazed  tailor,  for  the  next 
half  hour,  as  he  sat  alone  in  his  cheerless  shop,  were 
perplexing  in  the  extreme.  The  determined  manner 
of  the  stranger  led  him  to  fear  the  worst  if  he  failed 
in  completing  the  work  so  peremptorily  ordered. 
And  then  there  was  the  coin,  which  he  had  ventured 
to  clutch  as  soon  as  he  was  alone ;  that  seemed  an 
earnest  of  some  generous  reward  should  he  accom- 
plish the  work.  But  he  thought,  and  thought,  till  he 
was  weary  of  thinking,  and  then  crept  off  to  bed 
without  arriving  at  any  conclusion.  But  once  upon 
his  sweet  husk  couch,  his  weary  brain  was  at  rest. 
Drawing  about  him  the  ragged  tapestry  he  shut  out 
the  whole  world  of  tribulation  and  began  to  near  the 
confines  of  that  land  where  the  prospect  is  not  often 
all  dreary.  Blessed  be  he  who  invented  sleep,  says 
the  transported  Panza ;  and  blessed  be  he  who  in- 
vented the  bed  to  sleep  on. 

Nippy  soon  arrived  on  the  neutral  ground  that 
lies  between  the  countries  of  the  living  and  the  dead, 


324    HI.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

and  there  remained  undisturbed  till  a  bright  morning 
sun  bade  him  hurry  back.  And  he  returned,  greatly 
refreshed.  Things  seemed  much  cheerier  than  they 
did  when  he  retired.  On  a  careful  calculation  he 
found  that  with  some  over-work  he  might  satisfy  both 
his  customers.  And  determining  to  lose  no  time,  he 
was  crouched  upon  his  bench  at  an  unusually  early 
hour. 

He  first  began  upon  the  garment  of  the  stranger 
and  worked  away  with  all  his  might,  refreshing  his 
flagging  energies  by  an  occasional  draught  from  the 
battered  beer  tankard  that  he  kept  in  the  little  cup- 
board in  the  wall  above  his  head.  The  quantity  of 
material  being  ample,  he  felt  an  additional  incentive 
in  the  prospect  of  a  liberal  amount  of  cabbage,  a  kind 
of  vegetable  that  grew  under  tailors'  benches  even  at 
that  early  period.  So  the  work  went  vigorously  on. 

By  noon  of  the  day  appointed,  the  princely  garment 
was  completed.  And  so  delighted  was  Nippy  with 
the  gorgeous  appearance  of  his  handiwork  that  he 
was  almost  beside  himself.  He  beckoned  in  the 
passers-by,  bidding  them  examine  and  admire.  But 
he  was  sorely  puzzled  by  the  questions  as  to  whom  it 
belonged.  He  then  hung  it  upon  the  lintel,  that  it 
might  flaunt  in  the  breeze  and  attract  the  despairing 
gaze  of  a  rival  tailor  who  lived  on  a  hill  on  the  edge 
of  the  settlement.  Indeed  he  was  so  elated  that  he 
wasted  in  childish  capers  several  hours  that  should 
have  been  applied  to  the  work  of  his  other  customer. 

But  alas  for  poor  Nippy's  thoughtlessness.  He 
had  entirely  forgotten  a  very  important  matter ;  and 
that  was  the  interdiction  against  the  manufacture 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  325 

of  all  such  abominations  of  finery.  The  fact  of  its 
being  a  grave  offence  did  not  once  occur  to  him 
during  the  whole  time  he  was  employed  on  the  work. 
But  he  was  awakened  to  a  lively  sense  of  his  trans- 
gression, just  as  night  was  closing  in,  by  the  consci- 
entious constable,  who  happened  that  way  in  search 
of  a  stray  goat.  The  vigilant  official  observed  the 
audacious  display  with  amazement  as  well  as  indigna- 
tion, for  it  seemed  like  a  rank  defiance  of  authority. 
He  grasped,  and  was  in  the  very  act  of  twitching  the 
garment  down,  when  he  was  sent  staggering  into  the 
depths  of  a  quagmire  on  the  other  side  of  the  road, 
by  a  violent  blow  between  the  eyes.  It  was  pretty 
dark,  though  for  some  minutes  there  seemed  to  be 
ten  thousand  stars  shooting  about  his  head.  They 
were  not  sufficient,  however,  to  enable  him  to  discover 
who  or  what  had  so  assailed  him.  He  forever  re- 
mained in  the  dark  about  that.  Sometimes  he  thought 
it  might  have  been  lightning  ;  but  rather  on  the  whole 
concluded  that  it  must  have  been  one  of  the  evil 
spirits  who  had  so  long  alarmed  the  neighborhood. 
Curlup  had  no  doubt  in  the  matter.  He  was  fright- 
ened almost  to  death,  at  the  time,  and  afterward 
declared  that  as  the  blow  was  struck  he  saw  a  great 
grinning  head,  wrapped  about  with  sail-cloth,  near 
the  doorway,  but  no  body.  He  was  so  terrified  that 
he  sank  down  in  a  swoon,  and  knew  nothing  till  the 
neighbors  raised  him  up.  As  soon  as  he  had  recov- 
ered himself  he  was  again  frightened  almost  out  of 
his  senses  by  what  seemed  to  be  cold,  slimy  reptiles 
crawling  down  his  back.  He  flew  about,  and  as 
quickly  as  possible  tore  off  his  clothes  ;  when,  to  his 


326         III.      THE   WORKERS   AND   THEIR  WORKS. 

utter  consternation,  out  rolled  two  or  three  glistening 
gold  coins.  Either  was  more  than  sufficient  to  pay 
for  all  his  work  on  the  garment,  twice  over,  and  leave 
an  ample  balance  to  square  all  accounts  with  con- 
science, and  reasonably  indemnify  for  his  bodily  and 
mental  suffering.  What  became  •  of  the  gorgeous 
apparel  that  had  caused  such  a  stirring  episode  in 
his  history,  he  never  knew ;  and  though  his  fertile 
imagination  worked  upon  the  problem  for  the  remain- 
der of  his  life,  he  was  unable  to  reach  a  satisfactory 
conclusion,  till  just  before  his  exit  a  light  broke  upon 
him,  and  he  timidly  suggested  that  the  unknown 
assailant  of  the  constable,  was,  perhaps,  the  same 
mysterious  customer  who  brought  the  stuff,  and  that 
he,  as  owner,  had  taken  away  the  garment ;  a  conclu- 
sion supported  by  its  never  being  afterward  called  for. 

In  1639,  the  Court  made  an  earnest  appeal  to  the 
churches  to  do  something  for  the  suppression  of  the 
evil ;  something  for  the  "  present  reformation  of  imod- 
erate  great  sleeves,  and  some  other  superfluities,  wch 
may  easily  bee  redressed  wll)out  much  prejudice,  or 
the  spoile  of  garments,  as  imoderate  great  breeches, 
knots  of  ryban,  broad  shoulder  bands,  and  rayles, 
silk  races,  double  ruffes,  &  cuffes,  &c." 

The  grand  jurors  were  then  instructed  to  admonish 
all  offenders  in  the  several  towns  where  they  resided, 
as  they  should  "  have  occation  &  opportunity." 

These  passages  show  how  serious  a  matter  that 
"  intolerable  bravery  in  dress "  was  considered,  and 
how  difficult  it  was  to  abate  the  evil  by  legislation. 
And  the  partial  turning  of  the  business  over  to  the 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  327 

moral  suasion  of  the  churches  was  an  experiment 
gladly  resorted  to.  For  a  time,  success  seems  in  a 
measure  to  have  attended  the  experiment ;  or  else, 
despairing  of  success  in  that  way,  they  made  a  bold 
effort  in  another  direction,  repealing  the  restraining 
laws  altogether,  and  leaving  the  matter  to  regulate 
itself.  This  was  done  in  an  off-hand  way,  as  follows : 

"  It  is  ordered,  that  all  those  former  ordrs  made 
about  apparrell  &  lace  are  hereby  repealed."  [Court 
Records,  Nov.  13,  1644. 

But  this  did  not  answer  the  purpose.  It  was  on 
the  principle  of  a  free  liquor  traffic,  in  our  day.  And 
there  was  more  enacting,  and  repealing,  and  reenact- 
ing,  during  a  great  many  years.  Sober  people  were 
scandalized  by  the  manner  in  which  the  persons  of 
the  females  were  exposed  by  the  demands  of  some 
of  the  new  fashions  ;  and  the  "  superstitious  ribbons  " 
that  fluttered  on  the  heads  of  the  belles  greatly  dis- 
turbed the  nerves  of  the  aged  and  grave.  Witness  the 
revelations  of  the  following  enactment : 

"  Notwithstanding  the  wholesome  lawes  already 
made  by  this  Court  for  restreyning  excesse  in  appar- 
rell, yet  through  corruption  in  many,  and  neglect 
of  due  execution  of  those  lawes,  the  evill  of  pride  in 
apparrell,  both  for  costljnes  in  the  poorer  sort,  and 
vajne,  new,  strainge  fashions,  both  in  poore  &  rich, 
wth  naked  breasts  and  armes,  or,  as  it  were  pinioned 
w*  superstitious  ribbons  both  on  hajre  &  apparrell ; 
for  redresse  whereof,  it  is  ordered  by  this  Court,  that 


328    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

the  County  Courts,  from  time  to  time,  doe  giue  strict 
charge  to  present  all  such  persons  as  they  shall  judge 
to  exceede  in  that  kinde,  and  if  the  grand  jury  shall 
neglect  theire  duty  herein,  the  County  Court  shall 
impose  a  fine  vpon  them  at  their  discretion."  [Court 
Records,  Nov.  3,  1675. 

But  the  wearing  of  long  hair  was  one  of  the  most 
distressing  of  the  evil  customs,  and  reformation  was 
anxiously  sought.  Witness  the  following : 

"  Whereas  there  is  manifest  pride  openly  appearing 
amongst  us  in  that  long  haire,  like  weomens  haire,  is 
worne  by  some  men,  either  their  oune  or  others 
haire  made  into  perewiggs,  and  by  some  weomen 
wearing  borders  of  hajre,  and  theire  cutting,  curling, 
and  imodest  laying  out  theire  haire,  which  practice 
doeth  prevayle  and  increase,  especially  amongst  the 
younger  sort,  —  The  Court  doeth  declare  against  this 
ill  custome  as  offenciue  to  them,  and  divers  sober 
Christians  amongst  us,  and  therefore  doe  hereby  ex- 
hort and  advise  all  persons  to  vse  moderation  in  this 
respect ;  and  further  doe  impower  all  grand  jurjes  to 
present  to  the  County  Court  such  persons,  whither 
male  or  female,  whom  they  shall  judge  to  exceede  in 
the  premisses  ;  and  the  County  Courts  are  hereby 
authorized  to  proceed  against  such  delinquents  either 
by  admonition,  fine,  or  correction,  according  to  theire 
good  discretion.  [Court  Records,  Nov.  3,  1675. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  it  may  well  be  asked  what 
those  venerable  legislative  fathers  would  have  done 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  329 

had  their  eyes  been  afflicted  by  a  sight  of  those  exe- 
crable jute  appendages  which  cumber  the  heads  of  the 
ladies  of  the  present  day. 

Fashion  did  bear  tyrannous  sway  in  those  primitive 
times  as  well  as  in  after  years.  She  is  a  despot  in  all 
times  and  places,  and  there  are  few  who  have  courage 
to  stand  out  against  her  authority.  Many  a  damsel 
of  that  day  would  industriously  spin,  to  procure  the 
coveted  finery.  And  it  was  said  of  one  of  the  most 
promising  young  clerks  in  Boston,  that  he  would 
every  year  spend  nearly  half  his  winter  earnings  for  a 
fashionable  embroidered  doublet  in  which  to  swell  on 
pleasant  Sundays.  And  the  wretched  beau,  notwith- 
standing his  fair  promise,  finally  came  to  naught ;  for, 
being  sick  one  season,  and  unable  to  earn  much,  he 
purloined  from  an  employer  enough  to  make  up  the 
deficiency ;  and  his  career  was  ended  in  prison. 
Fashion  is  a  great  tempter  as  well  as  despot  and 
lures  hosts  of  young  men  to  destruction  ;  and  young 
women  too,  as  to  that  matter.  Beware  of  her. 

But' this  division  of  our  subject  must  be  brought  to 
a  close.  And  in  concluding,  we  will,  in  as  brief  a 
manner  as  is  consistent,  narrate  an  occurrence  that 
very  well  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  the  sump- 
tuary laws  were  frequently  enforced.  The  incident 
happened  at  an  early  period  ;  somewhere,  I  should 
judge  from  Mr.  Pinion's  note,  about  the  year  1642. 

Behold,  then,  Christine  Seaton,  one  of  the  fairest 
maids  who  trip  the  Boston  streets.  She  is  petted  and 
indulged  in  perhaps  too  many  maidenly  foibles,  but 
has  a  warm  heart  and  peculiar  graces  and  attractions. 


33O    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

See  her  trip  into  the  meeting-house  on  a  sunny 
Sabbath,  her  beautiful  face  all  radiant  with  smiles. 
It  is  warm,  and  she  comes  swinging  her  little  jockey 
hat  by  the  ribbons,  the  gayest  ribbons  of  all  that 
could  be  found  in  Mr.  Keayne's  shop.  Perhaps,  how- 
ever, the  heat  is  not  the  only  thing  that  induces  her 
to  carry  her  hat  rather  than  wear  it ;  the  curling 
locks  of  rich  auburn,  interwoven  with  silver  cords, 
may  have  added  their  influence.  About  her  neck  are 
double  strings  of  the  choicest  wampum,  the  gift  of 
Sunny  Wave,  who  has  long  been  one  of  her  most 
cherished  associates.  And  then  her  snowy  bosom, 
lightly  spread  with  silver  gauze,  how  it  swells  with  the 
healthful  inspirations  of  happy  life.  Her  gathered 
dress  of  crimson  damask  is  flounced  about,  slashed, 
and  trimmed  as  charmingly  as  the  most  fashionable 
needle-woman  in  the  whole  town  could  do  the  work  ; 
and  her  broad  sash,  coquetishly  knotted  at  her  side, 
glistens  and  flashes  with  its  golden  sprigs.  And 
altogether  her  presence  is  so  attractive  that  many 
eyes  are  drawn  towards  her  that  should  be  directed 
elsewhere.  And  then  the  dress  is  just  short  enough 
to  compensate  a  downward  gaze,  with  glimpses  of  her 
well-turned  ankles,  her  clocked  hose,  and  delicate  little 
slippers  with  their  starry  spangles. 

So  trips  in  Christine  Seaton,  with  her  elastic  step, 
casting  here  and  there  a  furtive  glance  from  her  merry 
hazel  eyes.  But  who  is  Christine  Seaton  ?  Why, 
she  is  the  ward  of  Mr.  Morton,  an  old  Scotch  mer- 
chant who  long  since  retired  from  active  business 
and  is  living  at  his  ease  in  Boston.  Some  say  she 
belongs  to  the  ancient  line  of  Scottish  Seatons,  who 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  33! 

so  long  maintained  such  lordly  rank ;  and  if  so,  a 
good  deal  of  pride  of  character  might  belong  to  her 
by  inheritance.  Very  few  knew  the  occasion  of  her 
being  here,  for  Mr.  Morton  had  no  disposition  to 
gratify  the  gossips  who  endeavored  to  elicit  informa- 
tion on  matters  with  which  they  had  no  concern. 
There  was  much  of  the  brusque  Scotch  character 
about  him,  but  to  his  charming  ward  he  was  ever 
kind  and  indulgent. 

Christine  had  received  a  polite  education,  and  could 
at  any  time  assume  that  dignity  of  manner  that  repels 
the  vulgar  and  intrusive.  Yet  her  intercourse  with 
those  about  her  was  cordial,  and  she  loved  dearly 
to  frolic  at  the  youthful  merry-makings.  And  she 
was  never  happier  than  when  with  Sunny  Wave 
clambering  the  woodland  cliffs,  or  in  an  Indian  skiff 
gliding  among  the  river  nooks.  Still  she  loved  books, 
especially  those  that  told  of  Scottish  life ;  of  Scot- 
land's noble  sons  and  daughters  ;  of  sports  among 
her  ancient  lochs  and  moorlands.  And  then  there 
were  the  thrilling  ballads  of  her  native  land ;  they 
stirred  her  to  the  very  soul. 

But  I  have  introduced  Christine  as  tripping  into 
the  rude  sanctuary  on  a  bright  summer  Sunday.  And 
coming  in  the  guise  described,  is  it  to  be  wondered 
at  that  the  devotions  of  many  were  disturbed  ?  Very 
few,  whatever  may  be  their  pretensions,  are  insensible 
to  the  charms  of  a  really  beautiful  object.  The  old, 
the  young,  the  rich,  the  poor — unless  it  be  that  widely 
scattered  few  who  are  devoid  of  the  common  sensibili- 
ties —  are  all  impressible,  though,  to  be  sure,  in  differ- 
ent degrees.  And  what  more  beautiful  object  can  be 


332    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

imagined  than  a  fair  and  sparkling  maiden  in  the  full 
glow  of  health  and  the  buoyancy  of  bright  hopes  and 
cloudless  spirits.  These  things  being  so,  then  was 
Christine  a  beautiful  object,  and  then  was  it  arrant 
hypocrisy  in  some  of  those  twanging  old  worshipers 
to  pretend  disgust  at  her  presence.  Any  way,  her 
entrance  did  produce  a  marked  sensation,  and  many 
glances  were  directed  towards  her.  Some  of  the  young 
men  even  raised  themselves  on  tip-toe,  and  some 
of  the  elderly  dames  set  their  heads  awry  to  get 
glimpses  from  the  depths  of  their  cavernous  bonnets. 

The  next  day  Christine  was  officially  admonished 
against  again  appearing  in  such  apparel.  But  for 
some  reason  the  admonition  did  not  have  the  desired 
effect,  though  she  had  never  been  looked  upon  as 
willful  or  disobedient.  Was  it  that  her  guardian  had 
got  his  Scotch  blood  up,  at  what  he  deemed  an  un- 
reasonable interference,  and  counselled  disobedience  ? 
Be  that  as  it  may,  she  did,  on  the  very  next  Sabbath, 
again  appear  in  the  sanctuary,  bedecked  in  all  her 
finery.  And  she  entered  leaning  upon  the  arm  of 
Mr.  Morton. 

It  was  known  that  the  admonition  had  been  given, 
and  so  the  astonishment  was  very  great.  Sojourn 
Gott,  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Gott  the  sanctimonious  member 
of  the  Court  before  introduced  to  the  reader,  and  who 
was  an  acknowledged  imitator  of  his  uncle  in  all  his 
over-righteous  pretentions,  rose  in  his  place,  which 
was  in  a  shady  corner  of  the  house,  and  pulling  out 
his  great  tow-cloth  handkerchief,  pretended  to  be 
vigorously  employing  it  in  its  legitimate  office,  while 
at  the  same  time  his  great  gray  eyes  were  peering 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  333 

over  it  toward  the  object  of  general  attraction.  His 
head,  indeed,  was  sort  of  turned  in  a  double  sense ; 
for  he  had  long  had  a  sneaking  notion  of  pursuing 
her  along  the  road  that  leads  to  the  altar  matrimonial ; 
we  say  sneaking,  because  every  thing  about  him  was 
sneaking.  What  on  earth  led  him  to  imagine  that 
his  suit  could  by  any  possibility  be  successful,  we  are 
unable  to  tell,  unless  he  considered  his  pretended 
piety  a  fair  equivalent  for  her  virtues  and  graces  — 
thus  making  godliness  a  kind  of  trafficing  commodity. 
It  is  said,  however,  that  he  had  large  expectations  in 
a  pecuniary  way ;  and  people  so  situated  are  quite 
apt  to  get  a  little  balloony,  overlook  their  own  defi- 
ciencies, and  imagine  that  others  will  see  them  as 
they  see  themselves.  And  it  is  lamentable  to  observe 
how  frequently  their  imaginings  are  verified.  But 
Christine  was  not  a  foolish  virgin. 

Long  before  this  time,  Sojourn  had  taken  occasion 
to  apprise  Christine  of  the  condition  of  his  internal 
arrangements,  and  had  met  with  such  a  rebuff  as 
would  have  satisfied  any  reasonable  aspirant  that  he 
might  as  well  consider  that  account  closed. 

The  services  at  the  sanctuary  were  ended.  And 
as  Christine  passed  down  the  green  path,  as  blithe- 
some as  if  entirely  unconscious  of  having  done  aught 
to  ruffle  the  most  quiet  current  of  events,  many  an 
old  head  gave  a  portentous  shake.  Sojourn's  long 
legs  soon  brought  him  to  her  side,  and  the  contrast 
between  them  was  certainly  striking.  If  the  reader 
desires  to  look  upon  his  picture,  he  will  need  but  to 
recall  what  was  said  a  few  pages  back  about  his  wor- 
thy uncle.  That  will  answer  very  well  for  both,  as  the 


334    Ilr-   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

nephew  endeavored  to  duplicate  the  uncle,  in  himself, 
if  possible,  both  in  character  and  personal  appearance. 
His  garments  were  excessively  ill-shaped,  the  more 
so,  as  Nippy  Curlup,  the  tailor,  had  succeeded  in 
giving  him  a  good  fit.  A  queer  yoke-fellow  enough 
would  he  have  made  for  Christine.  He  ogled  and 
shambled  along  about  as  gracefully  as  a  bullfrog 
might  in  his  attempts  at  wooing  a  lady  bird. 

It  would  have  been  more  natural  to  suppose  that 
the  purpose  of  Sojourn  was  to  labor  with  Christine  on 
the  vanity  of  her  appearance,  than  to  offer  his  ad- 
dresses ;  and  so  he  hypocritically  pretended  when  he 
received  the  deserved  repulse. 

In  half  an  hour  after  Sojourn  had  received  the  rather 
energetic  rebuff  from  the  pretty  lips  of  Christine,  he 
was  in  close  consultation  with  the  magistrate,  al- 
though it  was  holy  time.  The  next  morning  poor 
Christine  was  summoned  before  the  official,  just  as 
she  was  going  out  on  a  ramble  with  Sunny  Wave. 
Her  little  foot  came  down  with  rather  more  emphasis 
than  usual,  and  her  rosy  lips  pouted  in  a  way  not  the 
most  amiable.  The  Indian  girl  began  to  get  excited, 
and  proposed  going  for  her  father,  or  Mr.  Eliot.  But 
they  prudently  sought  the  direction  of  Mr.  Morton. 
He  had  no  hesitancy  in  directing  her  to  obey  the 
summons,  exclaiming,  as  he  brought  his  broad  hands 
together,  "  Gae  alang  dafter,  gae  alang,  and  I  '11  gae 
wi'  ye ! "  in  a  voice  not  overcharged  with  sweetness. 

Arrived  before  the  magistrate,  Mr.  Morton's  first 
inquiry  was  as  to  who  had  entered  the  complaint ; 
and  reluctantly  it  came  out  that  they  were  indebted 
to  Sojourn  for  the  compliment.  The  complaint  set 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  335 

forth  the  enormity  of  the  slashes  and  points,  the 
ribbons  and  spangles ;  but  bore  with  special  fervor 
on  the  curtailments  of  the  dress.  And  it  furthermore 
recited  the  fact  that  she  had  before  been  admonished. 

Mr.  Morton  seemed  in  doubt  whether  to  treat  the 
matter  with  disdain,  and  defy  the  magistrate,  or  take 
a  milder  course.  There  is  little  accomplished,  how- 
ever, in  attempting  to  bluff  a  magistrate,  and  the 
Scotchman  wisely  abstained  from  experimenting  in 
that  direction.  But  he  could  not  abstain  from  be- 
stowing on  the  absent  Sojourn  a  few  left-handed  com- 
pliments. 

After  a  little  quiet  conference  between  Christine 
and  her  guardian,  and  some  questioning  of  both,  by 
the  magistrate,  the  latter  vouchsafed  a  luminous  dis- 
quisition on  the  gravity  of  the  offence,  and  the  reason 
of  the  restraining  laws.  And  then  another  admoni- 
tion was  given,  enforced  by  a  threat  of  something 
more  strongly  persuasive  if  that  proved  ineffectual. 
They  left  the  august  presence,  and  on  the  way  home 
the  pretty  head  tossed  and  the  pretty  lips  quivered  as 
if  every  thing  had  not  terminated  in  the  most  satis- 
factory manner. 

And  now,  will  it  be  believed,  on  the  very  next  Sab- 
bath, that  defiant  little  witch  of  a  Christine  appeared 
in  the  meeting-house,  as  radiant  as  ever  in  her  finery, 
again  swinging  her  pretty  little  French  hat  by  the 
ribbons,  in  the  sauciest  way  imaginable.  This  was 
altogether  too  much  for  magistratical  forbearance, 
though  there  was  such  an  archness  in  her  impudence 
that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  be  downright  angry. 
But  her  offence  could  not  be  overlooked.  And  the 


336    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

very  next  day  a  peremptory  summons  again  brought 
her  before  the  magistrate.  This  time  she  was  re- 
ceived in  no  very  gentle  manner.  Sojourn  was  there, 
and  a  great  many  others  —  divers  of  the  young  folk 
of  both  sexes,  as  well  as  the  elder,  for  there  was  an 
undefined  idea  abroad  that  fun  of  some  sort  might  be 
expected.  The  facts  in  the  case  admitted  of  no  denial, 
and  as  the  result  of  a  very  brief  consideration  the 
official  announced  his  judgment  to  be,  that  she  should 
appear  in  the  meeting-house,  on  the  next  lecture  day, 
enrobed  in  all  the  offensive  finery,  but  with  a  sheet 
of  tow-cloth  —  sack-cloth,  he  called  it — with  a  sprink- 
ling of  ashes  on  it,  enveloping  her  whole  person,  from 
head  to  foot.  And  upon  the  back  of  this  penitential 
covering  were  to  appear,  in  huge  dimensions  and 
mournful  black,  the  letters  C.  M.  Finding  no  such 
punishment  as  that  prescribed  by  the  General  Court 
for  offences  connected  with  dress,  I  was  at  first  puz- 
zled to  understand  what  induced  the  uttering  of  such 
a  sentence,  and  especially  what  terrible  meaning  was 
enwrapped  in  those  cabalistic  letters.  But  it  must 
have  been  that  Christine  was  not  proceeded  against, 
at  this  time,  for  "  superstition  in  dress,"  but  for  de- 
spising the  authority  of  the  magistrates  —  the  C.  M. 
meaning  "  Contemner  of  Magistrates."  This,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  a  very  serious  offence  ;  much  more  so 
than  that  for  which  she  had  been  admonished. 

When  the  sentence  was  announced,  Sojourn  danced 
up,  threw  aloft  his  arms,  blew  with  his  mouth,  whirled 
around,  and  exhibited  sundry  other  evidences  of  de- 
straction.  But  no  one  could  tell  whether  he  was 
frantic  with  joy  or  grief;  so  they  did  not  know 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS. 


whether  to  be  angry  or  pleased,  to  pity  or  applaud. 
Mr.  Morton,  however,  at  a  venture,  seized  him  around 
the  body  and  carried  him  into  the  open  air.  And  as 
he  kicked  and  struggled  in  the  brawny  Scotch  arms, 
there  dropped  from  his  pockets  —  what  ?  why  a  pack 
of  cards,  and  two  or  three  plugs  of  tobacco  —  both 
proscribed  articles. 

Christine  appeared  to  be  the  only  one  present  who 
heard  the  sentence  unmoved.  As  she  calmly  with- 
drew, her  young  friends  pressed  about  her  ;  and  as 
they  ardently  condoled,  and  generously  scolded,  she 
could  hardly  restrain  her  tears.  Mr.  Morton  retained 
the  mastery  over  his  feelings  astonishingly  ;  but  it 
was  evident  that  his  mind  was  vigorously  at  work. 

The  day  arrived  on  which  poor  Christine  was  to 
appear  in  her  penitential  garb.  And  as  the  first  bell 
warned  of  the  approach  of  the  lecture  hour,  she  began 
to  array  herself  for  the  ordeal.  It  had  now  become  a 
serious  matter,  and  she  began  gravely  to  realize  the 
increasing  weight  upon  her  spirits.  Her  reason,  how- 
ever, taught  her  that  she  had  committed  no  real  sin, 
nor  done  any  thing  that  would  leave  an  enduring 
stigma  upon  her  fair  name  ;  a  fact  which  tended 
greatly  to  support  her  natural  fortitude.  There  was 
little  doubt  in  any  mind  that  Sojourn  Gott  was  at  the 
root  of  her  tribulation,  and  many  expletives,  guiltless 
of  sweetness,  were  cast  upon  him. 

The  last  hour  was  waning.  The  C.  M.,  in  deepest 
black,  and  of  gigantic  proportions,  had  been  received 
from  the  authorities,  and  at  sight  of  them  her  courage 
might  have  failed  had  she  not  been  informed  that 
divers  of  her  young  friends  had  determined  to  appear 

O  22 


338    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

by  her  side,  in  the  meeting-house,  like  bride's-maids 
at  a  marriage.  Mr.  Morton  grew  very  uneasy,  walk- 
ing back  and  forth,  and  frequently  going  to  the  door 
and  gazing  up  and  down  the  road.  His  countenance 
grew  more  and  more  lowering,  and  he  seemed  every 
moment  to  become  less  and  less  capable  of  curbing 
the  storm  within. 

With  palpitating  heart  and  trembling  hand  Chris- 
tine proceeded  to  affix  the  odious  letters,  and  was 
not  entirely  surprised  at  herself,  as  she  pursued  the 
labor,  to  find  that  her  eyes  began  to  gently  overflow. 
But  she  finished  the  work  and  was  just  donning  the 
strangely  ornamented  vesture,  when  from  the  window 
she  perceived  Sunny  Wave  hastening  toward  the 
house.  Without  any  ceremony  she  entered,  and  in- 
formed Christine  that  she  had  been  to  see  Mr.  Eliot, 
and  that  he  and  the  Governor  were  on  the  way  to 
meet  her  and  Mr.  Morton.  And  accordingly  the  two 
dignitaries  presently  arrived. 

The  three  gentlemen  retired  to  another  apartment 
and  remained  a  short  time  in  earnest  conference. 
When  they  returned,  they  found  the  two  girls  in  a 
brisk  little  quarrel.  It  appeared  that  Christine  had 
so  much  dread  of  the  part  she  was  about  to  act  that 
the  Indian  girl  was  deeply  touched,  and  quietly  asked 
to  have  the  drapery  of  disgrace  placed  on  her,  that 
they  all  might  see  how  it  looked.  Her  simple  request 
was  of  course  readily  complied  with.  But  when  it 
was  once  on  she  utterly  refused  to  have  it  taken  off, 
declaring  that  she  would  go  and  stand  in  the  meet- 
ing-house all  day  "  if  um  want."  And  no  persuasion 
or  threat  of  Christine  could  induce  her  to  disrobe. 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  339 

The  worthy  men  were  greatly  moved  by  the  really 
chivalrous  conduct  of  the  dusky  little  heroine,  though 
they  found  it  difficult  to  restrain  their  mirth  on  seeing 
her  frisk  about  thus  arrayed,  her  Indian  blood  so 
astir  that  her  eyes  flashed  and  her  tongue  rapidly 
uttered  denunciations,  right  and  left,  in  a  mixed 
torrent  of  English  and  Indian,  as  if  neither  alone 
were  sufficient  for  her  stormy  purpose.  Mr.  Eliot, 
however,  soon  succeeded  in  calming  her.  And  then 
he  began  to  reason  with  her  on  the  great  wrong  of  an 
innocent  person  receiving  the  punishment  due  to  the 
guilty.  At  this  she  turned  upon  him  in  a  way  that 
he  least  expected,  a  way  by  which  he  was  utterly 
confounded.  She  asked  him,  in  her  simple  manner, 
if  he  had  not  taught  her  and  her  father  that  that  very 
thing  was  "  much  right ; "  and  then  went  on  so  to  ex- 
plain as  to  convince  him  that  she  had  perfectly  com- 
prehended his  teachings  on  the  great  doctrine  of  the 
atonement,  teachings  which  he  had  not  before  dared 
to  hope  she  understood.  Taken  thus  by  surprise,  he 
did  not  know  what  to  say.  But  the  business  in  hand 
admitted  of  no  delay.  She  was  now  persuaded  to 
divest  herself  of  the  unseemly  robe  and  wait  events. 

Then  there  was  a  little  whispering  among  the  three 
gentlemen,  in  which  there  appeared  to  be  something 
revealed  by  Mr.  Morton  touching  the  family  connec- 
tions of  Christine,  at  which  the  others  were  greatly 
surprised,  and  the  Governor  turned  from  them  with 
the  remark  "Well,  well,  this  must  go  no  further; 
our  clemency  must  interpose." 

Then  he  kindly  took  Christine  by  the  hand,  saying, 
with  great  solemnity  "  Daughter,  thou  hast  indeed 


34O    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

followed  too  devotedly  thine  own  head ;  but  I  would 
not  that  thy  young  spirit  should  be  broken  by  an 
indignity  put  upon  thy  noble  blood,  for  a  broken 
spirit  is  a  grievous  burden  to  be  borne.  Yet,  way- 
ward daughter,  thou  must,  indeed,  take  heed  to  thy 
future  steps,  lest,  peradventure,  they  lead  into  still 
more  troublous  ways.  Come,  come,  put  on  thy  mod- 
est apparel  and  go  with  me  to  the  sanctuary,  and  I 
will  say  to  those  who  have  met  to  witness  thy  dis- 
grace what  may  be  meet  for  the  occasion  if  not  for 
thy  justification.  And  I  dare  answer  for  thee  that 
thou  wilt  no  more  affront  the  Court's  express  behest. 
May  God  give  thee  strength  in  future  to  avoid  offence 
against  proper  decorum  in  the  place  where  His  honor 
dwelleth.  Come,  come,  it  is  high  time  we  were  away, 
for  the  lecture  bell  hath  already  ceased  its  call." 

Little  did  Christine  expect  such  a  termination  of  her 
hour  of  tribulation.  With  the  most  heart-felt  thanks 
she  put  herself  under  the  guidance  of  the  Governor 
and  with  him  proceeded  to  the  meeting-house.  The 
expectant  throng  were  greatly  surprised  to  see  her 
enter  in  such  company,  instead  of  appearing  in  her 
penitential  habit.  The  services  had  not  commenced. 
And  the  Governor,  after  leading  her  to  a  retired  seat, 
stepped  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  and  announced  the 
pardon  of  the  fair  offender,  for  reasons  which  to  him 
had  been  made  to  appear  abundantly  sufficient  but 
which  from  delicacy  he  forbore  there  to  state.  And 
then  he  went  on  to  observe  that  lest  the  magistrate 
should  suffer  aspersion  for  her  condemnation  under 
the  law,  he  desired  to  bear  witness  that  he  approved 
of  his  proceedings,  and  hoped  that  all  others  who 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  34! 

were  inclined  to  transgress  such  wholesome  orders 
would  take  warning  before  they  found  themselves  in 
such  a  straight  as  might  compel  them  to  beg  for  exec- 
utive clemency,  a  boon  which  in  future  would  be  but 
sparingly  granted.  And  then,  greatly  to  the  wonder 
of  Christine,  he  closed  by  pronouncing  an  especially 
contrite  and  satisfactory  acknowledgment,  as  coming 
from  her  own  lips.  But  the  good  man  was  evidently 
determined  to  set  things  right,  all  round  —  to  vindi- 
cate the  law  and  its  administration,  as  well  as  his 
own  action. 

The  remission  of  Christine's  sentence  to  the  degrad- 
ing punishment  gave  unbounded  gratification  to  most 
present,  for  she  was  a  sort  of  pet,  and  they  would  no 
doubt  have  signified  their  delight  by  congratulations 
and  cheers  had  the  time  and  place  permitted. 

Sojourn  Gott  was  not  in  the  house,  though  in  the 
neighborhood  ;  and  he  was  not  in  the  house  because 
he  could  not  withdraw  his  feet  from  the  stocks.  The 
cards  and  tobacco  had  effectually  done  his  business  ; 
and  there  was  no  executive  clemency  for  him.  Mr. 
Morton  and  Christine  passed  by  him  on  their  way 
home,  but  the  beneficent  girl,  who  had  just  had  her 
own  transgression  forgiven,  was  far  from  exulting 
over  the  discomfiture  and  distress  of  her  persecutor. 

The  Wholesome  Provisions  of  the  Court,  also,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  extended  to  the  wages  of  mechan- 
ics and  laborers,  and  also  to  the  profits  of  shopkeep- 
ers, and  kindred  matters.  And  a  few  of  these  must 
be  given,  or  our  picture  will  be  incomplete. 

A  great  amount  of  discussion  has  of  late  been  had 


342    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

in  the  legislatures  of  New  England,  and  indeed  in 
divers  of  the  other  states,  yea,  and  incidentally  in  the 
congress  of  the  United  States,  regarding  the  hours 
of  work  for  mechanics  and  laborers.  But  it  often 
seems  as  if  law  makers  forget  that  there  are  some 
things  which  will  be  sure  to  regulate  themselves  — 
and  do  it  well  —  if  they  are  not  meddled  with  by  law. 

Supposing  eight  hours  are  made  a  legal  day's  work. 
Would  you  prohibit  one  from  working  ten  hours,  if  he 
wished  to  ?  And  if  he  worked  ten  ought  he  not  to 
be  paid  more  than  for  eight,  other  things  being  equal  ? 
You  would  not  make  laws  to  encourage  laziness  or 
defeat  industry,  would  you  ?  And  as  in  the  absence 
of  law,  one  may  agree  to  work  six,  eight,  or  ten  hours 
a  day,  and  require  pay  accordingly,  why  not  leave 
him  at  liberty  to  do  it  ?  Why  not,  in  short,  allow 
each  to  do  the  best  he  can  for  himself.  Every  one 
knows  best  —  or  ought  to  —  what  his  capacity  for 
labor  is  ;  and  he  especially  must  best  know  what  his 
inducement  to  it  are.  In  the  parable  of  the  vineyard 
we  see  developed  a  very  different  principle  from  that 
running  in  some  of  the  proposed  measures  of  the 
present  day. 

That  Americans,  as  a  general  thing,  have  in  former 
years  worked  more  than  was  good  for  them,  physic- 
ally, is  perhaps  true.  But  the  people  of  this  time  can 
hardly  be  charged  with  great  guilt  in  that  particular. 
In  new  countries  much  labor  is  required  to  bring 
things  into  a  comfortable  condition.  And  our  blessed 
country  would  now  have  been  immeasurably  behind 
what  it  is,  had  it  not  been  for  the  well-directed  and 
persistent  industry  of  our  good  forefathers.  That  the 


WHOLESOME   PROVISIONS.  343 

accumulation  of  property  is  the  chief  incentive  to 
industry  will  not  be  denied.  When  the  purpose  is  to 
provide  a  home  for  one's  family,  it  is  laudable ;  but 
when  it  is  merely  to  hoard  up  money,  or  to  outshine 
a  neighbor,  its  worthiness  is  not  so  apparent. 

There  has  hardly  been  an  interval  during  our  whole 
history  when  some  question  relating  to  labor  has  not 
been  under  discussion,  in  the  General  Court  or  out, 
among  politicians.  And  the  very  fact  that  no  princi- 
ples have  been  settled,  proves  the  inability  of  legisla- 
tion to  beneficially  dispose  of  such  matters.  Do  what 
you  may  in  the  form  of  a  requirement,  you  infringe 
some  natural  right  of  some  party  ;  and  the  one  whose 
right  suffers,  sees,  by  his  own  light,  that  the  interfe- 
rence was  not  demanded  by  any  public  necessity. 

You  cannot  equalize  what  the  Creator  never  intend- 
ed should  be  equal.  As  before  substantially  remarked, 
some  men  are  more  active,  diligent,  and  skillful  than 
others,  and  do  more  and  better  work  in  a  given  time  ; 
some  are  more  frugal  than  others,  and  need  much  less 
for  their  support ;  some  are  ambitious  to  be  rich  and 
make  a  display,  while  others  care  nothing  about  riches 
or  display ;  some  have  no  conception  of  moral  or 
mental  discipline,  and  strive  only  to  satisfy  bodily 
cravings.  And  a  law  that  aims  to  equalize  them  all, 
aims  to  do  more  than  the  law  of  heaven  itself. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  give  a  satisfactory  reason 
why  any  man  of  common  capacity  should  not  be 
allowed  to  fix  his  own  price  for  his  own  labor,  and 
determine  for  himself  how  many  hours  of  the  twen- 
ty-four he  will  devote  to  labor ;  others,  of  course, 
being  free  to  hire  him  or  not,  as  might  suit  their 


344         IIL      THE   WORKERS   AND   THEIR   WORKS. 

necessities.  Why,  every  man  has  a  natural  right  to 
do  thus.  But  the  wrong  comes  when  one  undertakes 
to  say  what  others,  employers  or  employed,  must  or 
must  not  do.  He  may  do  as  he  pleases  for  himself, 
but  has  no  right  to  compel  others  to  toe  his  line. 

Here  is  one  of  the  very  early  orders,  emanating 
from  the  Court  of  Assistants  : 

"  It  is  ordered  that  maister  carpenters,  sawers,  ma- 
.sons,  clapboard-ryvers,  brickelayers,  tylers,  joyners, 
wheelewrights,  mowers,  &c.,  shall  not  take  aboue  2s. 
a  day,  findeing  themselues  dyett,  &  not  aboue  14^.  a 
day  if  they  haue  dyett  found  them,  vnder  the  penalty 
of  vs-  both  to  giver  &  receaver,  for  euery  day  that 
there  is  more  giuen  &  receaued.  Also,  that  all  other 
inferior  workemen  of  the  said  occupacons  shall  have 
such  wages  as  the  constable  of  the  said  place,  &  2 
other  inhabitants,  that  hee  shall  chuse,  shall  appoynct. 
Also,  it  is  agreed,  that  ....  Master  taylours 
shall  not  take  aboue  1 2d.  a  day,  &  the  inferior  sorte 
not  aboue  8d.,  if  they  be  dyeted,  vnder  the  aforesaid 
penalty  ;  &  for  all  othr  worke  they  doe  att  home,  pro- 
porconably,  &  soe  for  other  worke  that  shalbe  done 
by  the  greate  by  any  other  artificer.  Further  it  is 
ordered,  that  all  workemen  shall  worke  the  whole 
day,  allowing  convenient  tyme  for  foode  &  rest." 
[Court  Records,  Oct.  I,  1633. 

Stringent  orders,  too,  were  passed  to  prevent  what 
was  regarded  as  extortion  in  traders,  by  taking  too 
large  a  profit  on  their  goods,  and  for  the  regulation 
of  traffic  in  general.  An  account  has  been  elsewhere 


WHOLESOME    PROVISIONS.  345 

given  of  the  serious  difficulties  in  which  Captain 
Keayne,  long  a  noted  shopkeeper  in  Boston,  became 
involved,  both  with  the  civil  and  church  authorities, 
and  the  heavy  punishment  and  earnest  admonition 
he  received  for  taking  too  large  a  profit  on  some  arti- 
cles sold  by  him.  And  it  would,  without  doubt,  be 
beneficial  for  some  of  the  virtuous  traders  of  this 
day,  as  well  out  of  Boston  as  in,  to  ponder  a  little 
upon  the  lessons  developed  in  that  account ;  and  if 
they  truly  follow  the  honest  teaching,  I  dare  say 
their  customers  may  also  be  benefited. 

The  "  oppression  "  of  the  shopkeepers  appears  to 
have  continued  a  long  time,  for  more  than  forty  years 
after  the  first  order  on  the  subject,  the  General  Court 
found  it  expedient  to  enact  as  follows : 

"  Whereas  there  is  oppression  in  the  midst  of  us, 
not  only  by  such  shopkeepers  and  merchants  who  set 
excessive  prizes  on  their  goods,  but  also  by  mechan- 
icks  and  day  labourers,  who  are  dayly  guilty  of  that 
evil,  for  redress  whereofif,  &  as  an  adition  to  ye  law, 
title  Oppression,  itt  is  ordered  by  this  Court,  that 
any  person  that  judgeth  himself  oppressed  by  shop- 
keepers or  merchants  in  setting  excessive  prizes  on 
their  goods,  haue  heerby  liberty  to  make  theire  com- 
plaint to  the  grand  jurors,  or  otherwise  by  petition  to 
the  County  Court  imediately,  who  shall  send  to  the 
person  accused,  and  if  the  Court,  vpon  examination, 
judge  the  person  complayning  injuried,  they  shall 
cause  the  offendo1"  to  returne  double  the  ouerplus,  or 
more  then  the  aequal  price,  to  the  injured  person,  and 
also  impose  a  fine  on  the  offendors  at  the  discretion  of 
o* 


346    III.   THE  WORKERS  AND  THEIR  WORKS. 

the  Court ;  and  if  any  person  judge  himself  oppressed 
by  mechanicks  and  day  laborers,  they  may  make  com- 
plaint thereof  to  the  selectmen  of  the  towne,  who 
if  vpon  the  examination  doe  find  such  complaint  just, 
hauing  respect  to  the  quality  of  the  pay,  and  the 
length  or  shortness  of  ye  day  labour,  they  shall  cause 
the  offender  to  make  double  restitution  to  the  party 
injured,  and  pay  a  fine  of  double  the  value  exceeding 
the  due  price."  [Court  Records,  Nov.  3,  1675. 

No  further  comment  is  needed  respecting  this  class 
of  enactments,  for  the  considerate  reader  will  at  once 
perceive  how  they  trench  upon  what  is  now  counted 
as  common  liberty.  And  he  will  probably  conclude 
that  however  pious  and  worthy  those  venerable  legis- 
lators were,  they  yet  had  but  an  imperfect  conception 
of  the  true  principles  of  political  science. 

Thus  have  we  given  a  taste  of  all  that  appears 
necessary  under  the  title  "  Wholesome  Provisions." 
And  though  some  of  the  specimens  of  legislation 
presented  may  rather  be  considered  unwholesome,  for 
modern  digestion,  the  times  and  circumstances  that 
gave  rise  to  them  should  be  well  pondered  before 
giving  judgment  against  them,  as  possessing  any 
inherent  unhealthiness. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 

~I  TPON  so  important  a  matter  as  the  Domestic 
\^_J  Relations  —  relations  on  which  so  largely  de- 
pend the  moral,  mental,  and  physical  well-being  of  a 
people  —  it  would  of  course  be  expected  that  the 
watchful  and  sagacious  legislators  should  early  exer- 
cise themselves.  And  so  we  find  Mr.  Pinion  saying : 
"  Mch  was  don  by  ye  Corte  to  stay  ye  manie  disorders 
y4  might  com  of  permiting  ye  vnseasonable  betrothall 
of  yong  men  and  maidens,  and  espetially  to  restrayne 
ill-conditioned  marriages  ;  likewise  in  ye  way  of  sep- 
arating such  as  bee  already  joyned  amiss  and  may  by 
God  his  lawe  bee  putt  asunder." 

The  common  law  of  England  regarded  marriage  as 
a  mere  civil  compact ;  but  the  ecclesiastical  invested 
it  with  peculiar  sanctity,  though  not,  like  the  Catholic 
church,  elevating  it  to  the  position  of  a  sacrament. 
Now,  though  it  is  in  truth  a  mere  contract,  it  is  yet 
one  of  a  very  peculiar  nature,  having  qualities  that 
distinguish  it  from  all  other  compacts,  and  making  it 
one  in  which  the  individuals  contracting  are  by  no 
means  alone  concerned,  but  in  which  the  community 
at  large  have  a  direct  interest.  And  so  much  do  the 
(347) 


IV.      THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 


peace  of  society  and  the  progress  of  the  race  depend 
on  its  continuance,  when  once  entered  into,  that  all 
enlightened  people,  while  awarding  to  it  special  privi- 
leges, have  rigorously  set  their  faces  against  its  disso- 
lution excepting  for  the  most  substantial  cause.  How 
many  good  people  unthinkingly  assume  that  a  man 
and  woman,  arrived  at  years  of  discretion,  and  agree- 
ing to  cast  their  lots  together,  have  a  right  so  to  do, 
and  to  live  unitedly,  in  the  closest  connection,  so  long 
as  they  find  it  one  of  mutual  happiness,  and  then  to 
dissolve  it  when  it  ceases  to  be  agreeable  ;  forgetting 
that  their  duties  to  offspring  and  to  society  at  large 
may  render  separation  a  great  wrong. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  our  laws  touching  mar- 
riage, divorce,  and  the  domestic  relations  generally, 
partake  largely  of  the  imperfection  of  all  human  law. 
And  it  is  no  comforting  reflection  that  the  legisla- 
tion of  late  years  has  not  much  improved  matters. 
As  to  divorce,  especially,  it  seems  as  if  there  might  be 
something  devised  that  would  better  fit  particular 
cases  —  something  that  would  take  into  account  more 
fully  the  condition  of  the  family,  the  natural  inclina- 
tions of  the  parties,  and  their  relations  to  others.  All 
general  and  inflexible  laws  work  more  or  less  hardship 
in  particular  cases.  But  individual  convenience  and 
even  rights  must  sometimes  be  sacrificed  for  the 
common  good.  It  has  been  thought  that  it  would  be 
best  to  have  no  fixed  law  on  the  subject,  but  leave  to 
the  legislature  or  the  supreme  court,  sitting  as  a  high 
court  of  equity,  or  even  to  a  jury  of  honest  neighbors, 
the  disposal  of  each  case  on  its  merits  and  its  various 
relations.  The  General  Court  indeed  did,  in  early 


COURTSHIP.  349 

times,  dispose  of  cases  very  much  in  that  way,  as  will 
appear  by  orders  which  we  shall  presently  quote. 
There  is  unquestionably  a  vast  amount  of  misery 
endured,  which  might,  under  a  different  order,  be 
relieved,  and  which  in  fact  should  be  relieved  ;  for 
there  is  misery  enough  in  the  world,  flowing  from 
other  sources,  which  is  not  so  susceptible  of  cure. 
Any  person  can  see  instances  right  around  him,  in 
which  it  is  perfectly  apparent  that  the  knot  matrimo- 
nial were  better  severed ;  but  yet  where  no  existing 
law  will  sanction  a  divorce.  It  is  a  little  remarkable 
that  such  great  strides  as  the  last  few  years  have 
witnessed  should  have  been  taken  toward  the  sever- 
ance of  the  pecuniary  interests  of  husband  and  wife — 
thus  opening  a  wide  door  for  family  dissensions — and 
yet  the  dissolution  of  the  connection  itself,  be  allowed 
to  remain  as  difficult  as  ever.  But  the  very  operation 
of  the  new  laws  separating  the  interests  of  husband 
and  wife  in  regard  to  property,  will,  assuredly,  sooner 
or  later,  force  a  modification  of  the  laws  touching 
the  marriage  contract  itself. 

Our  present  purpose  is  to  give  a  view,  imperfect 
though  it  may  be,  of  the  tenor  of  the  early  acts  of  the 
General  Court  concerning  these  interesting  relations. 
And  few  subjects  rank  higher  in  importance. 

COURTSHIP. 

Were  we  disposed  to  be  sentimental,  opportunity 
for  a  little  indulgence  in  that  vein  might  be  taken 
here  at  the  threshold  of  the  brief  discussion  of  the 
topic  first  in  order  in  our  chapter  on  the  Domestic 


35O  IV.       THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

Relations.  The  delicious  days  of  Courtship !  Who 
that  has  experienced  them  can  call  them  any  thing 
but  blessed,  thrice  blessed  —  sweet,  sweet  days,  with 
just  that  little  acid  dash  which  gives  the  keenest 
zest  —  days  to  which  the  memory  fondly  recurs  amid 
the  most  boisterous  hours  of  after  life,  and  rests  in 
blissful  repose. 

Those  forlorn  ones,  who  have  never  experienced 
the  delightsome  days,  and  regard  their  mystic  reali- 
ties as  deformed  though  gilded  dreams,  dreams  that 
for  a  brief  period  fool  about  in  youthful  brains,  and 
then  flit  away  forever,  have  themselves  been  but  in  a 
dull  dream,  a  dream  lethean,  which  has  led  them,  with 
closed  eyes  and  closed  hearts,  over  the  most  enjoyable 
pass  in  life ;  led  them  emptily  by  that  font  which 
sparkles  forth  with  the  most  refreshing  and  animating 
waters  that  gush  any  where  in  life's  weary  way ;  a 
blessed  font,  flowing  alike  for  rich  and  poor. 

But  we  are  not  going  to  be  sentimental,  for  in 
considering  the  ponderous  realities  of  legislative  pro- 
ceedings, the  wings  of  sentiment  are  very  likely  to  be 
heavily  clogged. 

Our  first  quotation  will  be  an  order  prohibiting  the 
irregular  winning  of  the  affections  of  maidens.  And 
it  will  be  observed  that  our  good  fathers  took  a  very 
decidedly  matter  of  fact  view  in  the  premises. 

"  Whereas,  God  hath  comitted  ye  care  &  power  into 
ye  hands  of  parents,  for  ye  disposing  of  their  children 
in  marriage,  so  yl  its  ag8*  ye  rule  to  seeke  to  draw 
away  ye  affection  of  yong  maydens  undr  pretence 
of  purpose  of  marriage,  before  their  parents  have 


COURTSHIP.  351 

given  way  &  alowance  in  yl  respect,  &  whereas  it  is  a 
comon  practice  in  divrs  places  for  yong  men  irregu- 
larly &  disorderly  to  watch  all  advantages,  for  their 
evill  purposes,  to  insinuate  into  ye  affections  of  yong 
maydes  by  coming  to  ym,  in  places  &  seasons  un- 
known to  their  parents,  for  such  ends,  wrby  much 
evill  hath  growen  amongst  us,  to  ye  dishonor  of  God 
&  damage  of  ye  parties  ;  for  prevention  whereof,  for 
time  to  come,  it  is  ordred,  by  authority  of  this  Corte 
y*  wl  person  soevr  from  henceforth,  shall  endeavor,  di- 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  draw  away  ye  affections  of  any 
mayde  in  ys  Jurisdiction  undr  pretence  of  marriage, 
before  he  hath  attained  librty  &  allowance  from  her 
parents  or  govrnrs,  or  in  absence  of  such,  of  ye  Cote 
of  ye  shire  wrin  ye  mayde  doth  inhabite,  or  of  & 
undr  ye  hand  of  one  magistrate,  he  shall  forfeit  for 
ye  first  offence,  5/. ;  for  ye  2d  offence  toward  ye  same 
party,  io/.  &  to  be  bound  to  forbeare  any  furthr  at- 
tempt or  proceeding  in  yl  unlawfull  designe  wthout  or 
agst  ye  alowance  aforesaid  ;  &  for  ye  3d  offence  (upon 
information  to  any  magistrate  by  such  parent  or 
govrnr,  being  bound  to  prosecute  ye  party,)  he  shalbe 
comitted  to  prison,  &  upon  hearing  by  ye  next  Cote, 
shalbe  adiudged  to  continue  in  prison  untill  ye  Cote 
of  Assistants  shall  see  cause  to  release  him."  [Court 
Records,  Nov.  11,  1647. 

Under  this  enactment  among  other  cases  occurred 
that  of  Matthew  Stanley,  who,  on  the  eleventh  of 
September,  1649,  was  convicted  at  the  quarterly  court 
in  Salem,  of  unlawfully  winning  the  affections  of  a 
daughter  of  John  Tarbox,  of  Lynn.  He  was  fined  5/. 


352  IV.       THE   DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

The  young  woman's   parents  attended   court   three 
days,  as  witnesses,  and  were  allowed  six  shillings. 

Sometime  before  this  enactment  of  1647,  however, 
the  Court  passed  orders  very  much  to  the  same  pur- 
pose. And  here  is  the  result  of  a  breach  of  one  of 
them : 

"  It  is  ordered,  that  Joyce  Bradwicke  shall  giue 
vnto  Alex :  Becke  the  some  of  xxs-,  for  promiseing 
him  marriage  wthout  her  ffrends  consent,  &  nowe 
refuseing  to  performe  the  same."  [Court  Records, 
April  i,  1633. 

If  Joyce  did  fool  Alexander,  she  probably  realized 
that  the  Court  were  not  fooling  with  her,  though  they 
disposed  of  her  case  on  the  first  of  April. 

Then  there  was  the  case  of  Zadoc  Bread  and  Ama- 
bel Cottleston,  in  which  Sunny  Wave  acted  such  an 
interesting  part.  Zadoc  was  complained  of  by  the 
irate  Mr.  Cottleston  for  "  drawing "  the  affections  of 
his  dutiful  daughter,  and  fined  and  admonished.  He 
however  came  near  escaping  conviction  ;  for  the  honest 
hearted  maiden  frankly  deposed  that  she  was  the  one 
who  did  the  drawing.  But  the  magistrates  could  not 
view  it  in  exactly  that  light,  as  enough  was  drawn  out 
by  their  cross-questioning  —  and  cross  enough  it  was, 
by  all  accounts  —  to  satisfy  them  that  the  drawing 
was  at  least  mutual  ;  and  so  they  replenished  the 
treasury  to  the  amount  of  five  pounds.  But  a  brief 
narration  of  the  incidents  as  they  occurred  should  be 
given. 


COURTSHIP.  353 

Old  Mr.  Cottleston  was  one  of  those  invidious 
persons  whose  chief  enjoyment  consists  in  laboring 
to  make  those  about  them  uncomfortable  ;  who  are 
jealous  of  the  intentions  of  every  one  toward  them, 
and  tenaciously  retain  a  morbid  sense  of  real  or  fan- 
cied wrong.  He  Was  a  tall,  gaunt  man,  and  laid  claim 
to  divers  marvelous  physical  endowments.  Among 
other  things,  he  asserted  that  by  stopping  his  nose 
and  mouth  he  could  breathe  through  his  ears.  And 
poor  Amabel,  in  view  of  his  dogged  watchfulness 
of  her  when  he  thought  Zadoc  was  about,  declared 
her  conviction  that  he  could  likewise  see  through  his 
ears.  But  without  pausing  to  examine  into  the  valid- 
ity of  his  claims  touching  the  auricular  organs,  we 
will  pass  on  to  say  a  word  about  his  nasal  protuber- 
ance ;  and  this  we  do  because  it  was  made  to  act  a 
part  in  the  touching  little  drama  we  are  entering  on. 
The  lower  expansion,  or  bulge,  of  this  nose  of  Mr. 
Cottleston,  was  of  such  enormous  size  as  to  attract 
the  attention  of  even  cows  and  horses  as  they  met 
him  in  the  streets.  And  it  is  asserted  that  once  an 
old  ram  was  so  alarmed  that  he  dashed  over  a  stone 
wall  and  broke  his  neck  by  entangling  his  horns  in  a 
barberry  bush.  It  does  seem  as  if  nature  had  some 
decided  purpose  in  her  odd  facial  formations,  beyond 
the  mere  furnishing  objects  of  diversion  for  the  curi- 
ous or  of  alarm  for  the  apprehensive  ;  and  the  admirer 
of  nature's  wonderful  works,  might  study  as  profitably 
here  as  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 

Noses  have  long  since  been  classified  and  pro- 
nounced indexes  of  character.  And  they  are,  too, 
unquestionably,  very  useful  members ;  indispensable 

23 


354  IV-      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS. 

for  many  good  purposes.  Their  value,  however,  as 
mere  organs  of  pleasure,  is  doubtful.  To  the  lover 
of  flowers,  the  admirer  of  barbers'  flavors,  and  snuff- 
takers,  they  afford  a  world  of  delight.  But  earth 
abounds  with  bad  odors,  and  when  these  prevail,  the 
value  of  noses  is  more  doubtful.  There  is  another 
question  about  noses  which  it  is  hoped  will  some  day 
receive  the  examination  it  merits ;  and  that  is,  whether 
the  scenting  power  is  in  the  ratio  of  the  size.  But 
we  must  take  up  the  thread  of  our  narrative. 

There  were  other  aspiring  swains,  besides  Mr. 
Bread,  who  had  a  tender  regard  for  Amabel ;  some, 
no  doubt,  on  account  of  her  riches  in  health,  beauty, 
intelligence,  and  sprightliness  ;  and  others,  with  quite 
as  little  doubt,  on  account  of  the  riches  of  her  father 
in  arable  lands,  wood  lots  and  goats.  Zadoc,  however, 
had  the  inside  track,  in  the  pursuit,  to  use  a  modern 
phrase  ;  that  is,  so  far  as  she  was  concerned  ;  though 
her  father  very  wittily  declared  that  his  daughter 
was  worthy  of  better  Bread,  and  should  not  take  up 
with  any  rusty  dough-boy.  Zadoc,  indeed,  feared 
from  the  first  that  the  old  man  would  prove  a  serious 
obstruction  to  the  course  of  his  love,  but  thought 
that  perhaps  it  might  somehow  gurgle  round  him  and 
work  clear. 

One  trouble  was,  Zadoc  had  long  before  given  very 
great  offence  to  Mr.  Cottleston  by  selling  him  cloth 
for  a  Sunday  coat,  which  in  the  short  space  of  three 
years  faded  in  spots  and  streaks  in  the  most  shameful 
manner.  Several  wordy  bouts  had  taken  place  be- 
tween them  on  the  subject,  the  old  man  being  an 
accomplished  railer  and  the  young  one  quick  as  a 


COURTSHIP.  355 

nettle  at  retort.  But  for  all  that,  the  memory  of  the 
offence  might  have  followed  the  example  of  the  color 
of  the  coat  and  faded  away,  had  not  Zadoc  several 
times  during  the  excited  disputes  imprudently  made 
illiberal  allusions  to  the  nose.  On  one  "occasion,  too, 
soon  after  an  unusually  violent  altercation,  the  great 
barn  door  of  Mr.  Cottleston  was  found  decorated  by 
the  outlines  of  a  gigantic  nose,  with  dabs  of  deep  red 
paint  all  over  the  low  drooping  lobe.  And  there  its 
aggravating  presence  loomed  in  full  view  from  the 
windows  of  the  best  room.  All  these  things  of  course 
happened  tong  before  the  sparking  between  Amabel 
and  Zadoc  commenced.  And  it  shows  the  importance 
of  being  careful  about  offering  provocation  to  any  one  ; 
for  in  the  constantly  shifting  scenes  of  life  we  do  not 
know  who  may  be  our  next  bed-fellow. 

The  two  lovers  were  convinced  that  the  old  gentle- 
man would  violently  oppose  the  consummation  of 
their  desires ;  a  conviction  that  perhaps  added  to 
the  intensity  of  their  passion,  though  it  led  them  to 
be  very  circumspect  in  their  interviews,  and  sparing 
of  their  endearments  when  observing  eyes  were  about. 
But  that  hope-deferred  suspense  becomes  very  wea- 
rying to  the  true  and  ardent  lover,  and  impatience 
suggests  many  a  device  which  prudence  might  not 
approve. 

Zadoc,  in  casting  about  for  an  advocate  of  his  cause, 
with  Mr.  Cottleston,  thought  of  his  employer,  a  man 
who -made  his  own  conscience  his  idol  of  worship, 
and  as  firmly  believed  in  its  infallibility  as  ever  papist 
in  the  pope's.  He  was  a  brother  church  member 
as  well  as  distant  relative,  and  known  to  entertain 


356  IV.      THE   DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

a  high  opinion  of  Zadoc.  All  these  things  seemed 
favorable. 

Mr.  Maddox  readily  accepted  the  delicate  office,  and 
soon  had  a  conference  with  his  friend  Cottleston, 
whom  he  found  in  his  front  room,  stringing  onions. 
He  had  hardly  delivered  himself  so  far  as  to  give  a 
glimpse  of  the  purpose  of  his  mission,  when  that 
awful  nose  took  the  scent  notwithstanding  the  power- 
ful counter  odor  of  the  onions  ;  and  from  the  toothless 
cavern  beneath  there  issued  a  torrent  of  invective. 
Unfortunately  the  faded  coat  hung  in  full  view,  afford- 
ing an  argument  against  which  no  common  eloquence 
could  prevail.  Mr.  Maddox  was  not  disposed  to  be- 
stow much  attention  on  the  garment,  for  he  well 
remembered  that  the  cloth  was  purchased  at  his  own 
store,  where  Zadoc  was  but  an  attendant.  Nor  did 
he  think  it  at  all  advisable  to  turn  the  current  of 
ire  from  Zadoc  to  himself,  but  was  very  willing  to 
allow  the  storm  to  continue  to  beat  on  a  blameless 
head.  And  then,  in  full  view  from  the  windows  of 
the  room  in  which  they  were,  still  glared  the  hideous 
nasal  representation.  It  is  no  more  than  fair  toward 
Zadoc,  however,  to  state  that  he  solemnly  asseverated 
that  he  had  no  hand  in  that  artistic  libel ;  and  he  was 
always  regarded  as  a  truthful  young  man.  At  all 
events,  Amabel  believed  him  innocent. 

The  intercession  of  Mr.  Maddox  was  fruitless,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  his  conscience  leading  him 
to  give  rather  more  than  due  prominence  to  all  the 
little  failings  which  Zadoc,  in  common  with  the  rest 
of  mankind  was  subject  to,  and  to  avoid  giving  any 
prominence  to  his  many  virtues  and  generous  acts. 


COURTSHIP.  357 

But  such  conduct  is  not  uncommon  with  desperately 
conscientious  people. 

The  opposition  of  Mr.  Cottleston  now  waxed  firmer 
and  firmer ;  for  as  it  in  reality  had  little  to  rest  on, 
he  kept  continually  seeking  for  every  little  bit  of  drift 
fuel  to  keep  alive  and  increase  the  flame  of  his  wrath. 
And  do  not  tantalizing  parents,  now-a-days,  under 
similar  circumstances  sometimes  act  as  he  did  ?  And 
when  they  do,  do  they  not  deserve  to  be  circumvented 
as  he  was  ?  But  how  was  he  ?  That  we  are  presently 
to  show. 

Mr.  Cottleston  went  even  farther  than  to  simply 
forbid  the  addresses  of  Zadoc.  He  complained  of  him 
to  the  court,  a  second  time.  But  the  records  do  not 
show  what  the  result  of  this  repeated  application  was. 
The  fire  of  true  love,  however,  was  not  quenched, 
for  unreasonable  opposition,  in  such  cases,  generally 
adds  to  the  violence  of  the  flame.  Zodoc  was  a 
spirited  youth  ;  and  having  been  made  to  pay  the 
fiddler,  was  not  disposed  to  tamely  relinquish  the 
dance,  so  long  as  his  partner  was  willing. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  circumspection  of  the  lov- 
ers little  incidents  would  occur  to  keep  Mr.  Cottle- 
ston's  suspicions  thoroughly  aroused.  And  he  soon 
began  to  keep  a  vigilant  watch  over  his  daughter. 
He  even  forbade  her  going  out,  excepting  under 
special  circumstances,  and  abridged  her  liberty  in  the 
most  annoying  ways.  Upon  the  head  of  Zadoc  he 
rained  such  denunciations  that  had  one  in  ten  been 
a  brick  the  poor  pate  would  have  been  crushed.  And 
owing  to  his  cruel  injunctions  almost  the  only  visitor 
Amabel  soon  came  to  have  was  Sunny  Wave.  That 


358  IV.      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS. 

vivacious  little  sprite  had  been  a  welcome  visitor 
there,  for  a  long  time ;  and  the  old  gentleman  was 
now  especially  pleased  to  have  her  drop  in,  for  he 
really  loved  his  daughter,  and  had  no  doubt  that  the 
sprightliness  of  the  forest  maid  would  do  much  to 
ward  off  the  moodiness  that  might  otherwise  settle 
on  her  mind. 

Amabel,  as  well  as  Zadoc,  was  spirited,  and  the 
rigorous  course  of  her  father  roused  her  indignation 
till  it  rose  superior  to  her  filial  reverence.  Anxious 
weeks,  however,  passed  before  Mr.  Cottleston  received 
the  astounding  intelligence  that  a  veritable  elopement 
had  been  planned  by  the  lovers,  who  determined  to 
retire  to  Plymouth  colony,  or  if  need  be  to  the  Rhode 
Island  jurisdiction  where  more  propitious  days  might 
await  them.  The  old  man  would  not  probably  have 
believed  the  thing  possible  had  he  not  received  the 
information  directly  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Maddox, 
Zadoc's  employer.  The  young  man,  in  his  necessity, 
had  made  a  confidant  of  him,  and  received  counte- 
nance and  encouragement  until  he  had  developed  his 
scheme  to  the  utmost.  Then  the  conscientious  confi- 
dant slipped  off  and  regaled  the  ears  of  the  enraged 
parent  with  the  whole  story. 

The  old  man  gleefully  rubbed  his  hands,  chuckling 
out,  "  Yes,  yes,  a  decoyer !  a  kidnapper !  ah,  ha !  we 
will  now  surely  have  him  in  hold  !  "  And  whipping 
posts,  prisons,  and  gallowses  loomed  in  pleasing  vista 
before  him. 

He  was  kept  informed  by  the  faithless  though  con- 
scientious confidant  of  the  progress  of  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  elopement.  And  being  fully  advised 


COURTSHIP.  359 

of  the  hour  set  for  the  flight,  the  place  where  she  was 
to  meet  her  lover,  and  the  point  at  which  they  were 
to  embark,  he  felt  sure  of  his  prey.  His  plan  seems 
to  have  been  to  first  make  sure  that  she  did  not  leave 
the  house,  and  then  to  proceed  for  the  arrest  of  Za- 
doc  while  surrounded  by  the  most  enchaining  circum- 
stances. 

With  such  laudable  ends  in  view  Mr.  Cottleston 
sat  himself  down  in  the  front  room,  with  the  door 
which  opened  on  the  staircase  that  led  to  Amabel's 
apartment  ajar,  and  there  remained,  as  vigilantly  on 
the  watch  as  the  tyler  at  a  masonic  lodge.  The 
momentous  hour  approached,  and  the  girl  was  in  her 
chamber,  whither  she  had  retired  after  having  com- 
pleted her  part  of  the  domestic  labors  of  the  day. 
And  Sunny  Wave  was  known  to  be  with  her,  for 
her  merry  laugh  frequently  broke  on  the  lively  ear 
of  the  watcher. 

The  shades  of  evening  were  thickly  gathering. 
The  hour  was  at  hand  ;  and  now  the  old  man  was  all 

on  tip-toe The  chamber  door  softly 

opened,  a  slight  rustling  was  heard,  and  then  a  light 
step  on  the  stair.  He  now  felt  sure  of  his  game,  and 
thought  how  beautifully  all  his  plans  had  worked,  and 
could  not  help  mentally  bestowing  blessings  on  that 
courageous  conscience  of  his  friend  Maddox,  which 
had  enabled  him  so  effectually  to  thwart  the  conspi- 
racy against  his  authority.  His  great  gray  eyes  were 
all  ablaze,  and  the  stalwart  arms  extended  to  encircle 
the  prisoner,  when  he  caught  a  glimpse  that  induced 
him  to  fall  back  a  pace.  And  the  picturesque  gar- 
ments of  Sunny  Wave  swept  by,  her  jaunty  little 


36O  IV.       THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

plumes  brushing  against  his  frightful  nose,  as  the 
retreating  form  stepped  from  the  stairs. 

"  Well,  well,"  thought  Mr.  Cottleston,  "  now  that 
bird  has  flown,  the  other  will  soon  follow."  He  had 
been  wishing  that  the  Indian  girl  would  go,  as  he 
knew  that  she  must  be  pained  at  what  would  appear 
to  her  an  outrage,  and  might  become  excited  to  an 
inconvenient  degree.  So  he  felt  quite  relieved. 

He  watched  on  again,  for  an  hour  or  more,  when 
impatience  began  to  get  the  better  of  prudence,  and 
he  was  on  the  eve  of  making  a  demonstration  ;  but, 
just  in  time,  as  the  auctioneers  say,  his  quick  ear 
caught  a  slight  sound.  There  was  a  little  movement 
above,  and  then  all  was  silent  again.  Being  satisfied 
that  his  bird  was  now  about  taking  flight,  he  stood 
prepared  to  grab  ere  she  hopped  the  twig.  But  then 
all  was  still  again,  and  he  waited  till  impatience 
almost  drove  him  to  extremities.  Then  it  occurred 
to  him  that  perhaps  she  had  suspected  him  to  be  on 
the  watch  for  something,  and  feared  to  venture  forth 
till  she  thought  he  had  retired.  Acting  on  this  suspi- 
cion, he  passed  out  in  rather  a  noisy  way,  and  imme- 
diately returned  silently  to  his  post.  After  this  very 
cunning  manoeuvre  he  had  remained  but  a  short 
interval,  trying  to  imagine  what  had  occasioned  delay 
or  gone  amiss,  when  the  chamber  door  again  quietly 
opened  and  a  descending  footstep  was  heard.  With 
the  fury  of  a  big  tom-cat,  pouncing  on  a  poor  little 
bird,  he  pounced  on  the  descending  form,  and  held  it 
with  a  crushing  grip.  But  he  was  quickly  brought  to 
his  senses  by  a  slap  in  the  face  from  the  fiery  hand 
of  Sunny  Wave,  who  began  in  real  or  well-feigned 


COURTSHIP.  361 

excitement,  and  in  a  mixture  of  English  and  Indian, 
such  as  she  often  employed  when  much  aroused,  to 
berate  him  roundly  :  "  Wehe,  wehe ! "  she  ejaculated, 
"  old  white  man  hug  Indian  girl  —  matchenekuk  quen- 
gig  —  he  do  wicked  —  qutchhuaonganit  —  I  no  his 
squaw  —  wutch  match  —  menuhkesuonk  —  he  have 
white  squaw  himself — nummatcheseongask  wehe  — 
make  my  fadher  say  swear,  swear  much,  swear  vera 
much  —  pohquohwussinnean  itut  —  wehe  —  Masther 
Eliot,  I  tell  him  ;  he  say  bad,  oh,  vera  bad  ;  I  talk  to 
urn."  And  all  the  time  she  was  interspersing  her  ejac- 
ulations with  the  most  energetic  if  not  furious  strug- 
gles and  scratchings.  He  dropped  her  as  he  would 
have  dropped  a  blazing  rocket,  and  off  she  shot,  into 
the  gloom  of  night. 

The  old  man  was  now  desperate.  He  rushed  up 
stairs,  where  he  beat  about  to  no  purpose,  soon  satis- 
fying himself  that  the  bird  had  of  a  surety  flown. 
The  truth  now  flashed  upon  him.  Amabel  had  es- 
caped in  the  garments  of  Sunny  Wave.  And  down 
he  rushed  again,  as  if  in  the  hope  of  finding  the 
Indian  girl,  that  he  might  reek  vengeance  on  her  for 
her  complicity  in  the  affair.  But  she  was  now  at 
a  safe  distance,  and  without  doubt  rejoicing  in  her 
young  heart  over  the  success  of  their  strategy.  And 
the  poor  man  was  left  with  only  the  meagre  satisfac- 
tion of  roundly  abusing  his  wife  for  being  the  mother 
of  such  a  perverse  child.  He  was  excessively  morti- 
fied at  being  so  outwitted  by  a  couple  of  girls,  and  one 
of  them  "  a  little  salvage  devil,"  as  he  spitefully  called 
Sunny  Wave  ;  and  doubly  incensed  at  losing  the  op- 
portunity of  seeing  Zadoc  at  least  in  the  pillory.  In 


362  IV.      THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

the  extremity  of  wrath  he  seized  his  hat  and  crushed 
it  down  on  his  head  as  if  his  hair  were  on  fire  and 
the  hat  an  extinguisher.  And  then  off  he  rushed 
toward  the  place  where  the  lovers,  according  to  the 
worthy  Maddox,  were  to  embark.  But  he  was  spared 
a  part  of  the  journey,  for  he  soon  met  a  ship-chandler 
who  kept  near  the  landing,  and  who,  in  reply  to  his 
eager  inquiries,  informed  him  that  the  shallop  was 
then  far  down  the  bay,  without  doubt  dancing  merrily 
along,  as  the  wind  was  fair. 

On  receiving  this  comforting  information,  he  strode 
home  again,  in  about  as  uproarous  a  condition  of  mind 
as  need  be  imagined.  Seeing  the  faded  coat  on  its 
peg,  he  snatched  it  down  and  tore  it  into  shreds,  and 
raved  round  like  a  mad  bull.  His  excitement  attained 
such  a  pitch  that  his  wife  was  obliged  to  send  for  Mr. 
Maddox.  That  enlightened  individual  promptly  re- 
paired to  the  abode  of  distress,  taking  his  god  con- 
science with  him.  He  read  the  Bible,  prayed,  and 
recited  the  catechism,  for  some  two  hours,  when  the 
weight  of  the  storm  seemed  overpast,  and  he  retired. 

The  report  somehow  presently  prevailed,  far  and 
wide,  among  the  scandal-mongers,  that  Mr  Cottleston 
had  been  caught  in  the  very  act  of  offering  a  serious 
impropriety  to  Sunny  Wave  ;  and  that  she  was  forced 
to  rage  like  a  little  wild  cat  to  save  herself  from  a 
great  wrong.  Mr.  Maddox  was  appealed  to,  as  he 
was  known  to  have  been  at  the  house  on  the  eventful 
night,  but  was  too  conscientious  to  deny  or  explain 
any  report  that  might  tarnish  the  reputation  of  a 
neighbor ;  for,  as  he  was  fond  of  remarking,  with  a 
shrewd  wag  of  the  head  —  "  the  flesh  is  weak ; "  a  fact 


COURTSHIP.  353 

which  the  conduct  of  people  of  his  stamp  generally 
makes  apparent.  Sunny  Wave  herself  was  not  seen 
in  Boston  for  some  time  after  the  exceptional  occur- 
rence, so  that  nothing  could  be  learned  from  her. 
The  matter  finally  assumed  so  serious  an  aspect  that 
Mr.  Cottleston  was  driven  to  keep  housed  most  of  the 
time.  And  the  affair  was  about  being  brought  before 
the  church  and  the  Court,  when  the  Indian  girl 
became  apprised  of  what  was  going  on.  Without 
delay  she  visited  her  kind  adviser,  Mr.  Eliot,  and  told 
him  the  story  in  full.  He  was  greatly  amused  at  the 
artless  rehearsal  of  the  artful  contrivance  for  Amabel's 
escape,  and  promised  to  do  all  he  could  to  effect  a 
reconciliation,  so  that  the  absent  pair  might  return. 
He  lost  no  time  in  relieving  Mr.  Cottleston's  char- 
acter from  any  unclean  aspersion  ;  but  could  not 
prevent  the  sneers  and  jokes  of  the  pestilent  fellows 
who  delighted  to  annoy  and  irritate  him. 

What  temporarily  became  of  the  lovers,  it  would 
be  stepping  aside  from  our  course  to  narrate.  All 
that  need  be  said,  is  that  they  got  safely  off,  and  were 
duly  united  in  wedlock.  They  were  not  again  seen 
in  the  Bay  Colony  until  a  pacification  had  been 
effected,  which  was  not  so  very  difficult,  after  the 
shreds  of  the  faded  coat  had  been  braided  into  a  door 
mat  and  worn  out,  and  the  unique  drawing  had  been 
weather-scrubbed  from  the  barn  door. 

Subsequently,  we  find  this  entry : 

"  In  answer  to  the  peticon  of  Wm  Thompson,  crav- 
ing the  remittment  of  a  fine  of  five  pounds,  ye  law 


364        IV.   THE  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 

imposeth  on  him,  for  making  a  motion  of  marriage  to 
Sarah  Goggan  before  he  had  liberty  so  to  doe  from 
hir  freinds,  the  Court  judgeth  it  meet  to  abate  him 
fiffty  shillings  of  that  fine."  [Court  Records,  June 
2,  1653. 

This  seems  to  have  been  another  case  arising  under 
the  same  enactment  that  the  Stanley-Tarbox  affair 
happened.  From  a  remittance  of  a  part  of  the  fine  it 
may,  however,  be  inferred  that  such  obduracy  as  cha- 
racterized that  case  did  not  here  exist ;  or,  possibly, 
Mr.  Thompson  could  not  raise  the  money,  and  had 
been  kept  in  durance  long  enough.  Whether  he 
finally  married  Sarah  it  does  not  appear  ;  but  perhaps 
a  reconciliation  had  been  effected  which  resulted  in 
wedlock,  and  the  fifty  shillings  were  remitted  to  aid  in 
the  setting-out. 

Further  on,  we  find  another  instance  of  a  grieved 
swain  petitioning  for  the  Court's  clemency  : 

"  In  ansr  to  the  petition  of  Willjam  Walker,  seaman, 
now  a  prisoner  for  the  breach  of  ye  law  abl  making 
suite  to  a  servant  majd  wtbout  the  masters  consent 
first  obteyned,  &c.,  the  Court,  considering  he  was  a 
strainger,  &  not  knowing  the  lawe,  that  he  hath  lyen 
in  prison  nere  a  moneth,  judgd  meet  to  graunt  his 
request  &  dischardg  him,  he  paying  the  chardge  of 
the  prison."  [Court  Records,  Oct.  8,  1662. 

So,  poor  William  obtained  his  enlargement.  He 
probably  thought  he  had  fallen  among  land-sharks. 


MARRIAGE.  365 

Mariners  are  rather  noted  for  their  devotions  at  the 
shrine  of  Venus,  while  in  port,  and  are  very  liable  to 
be  suspected  of  unwarrantable  freedom  in  regard  to 
the  fair  sex.  Perhaps  they  are  a  little  more  ardent 
than  would  be  becoming  in  a  landsman  ;  but  their 
intervals  for  sweet  dalliance  being  usually  short,  they 
are  obliged  to  make  hay  while  the  sun  shines,  so  to 
speak.  Our  wary  fathers,  probably  taking  into  view 
the  peculiar  temperament  of  the  class,  thought  that 
the  cool  air  of  a  prison  would  be  wholesome  for 
William  the  sailor. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  the  sin  of  incontinence 
was  surprisingly  prevalent  at  an  early  day  ;  and  it  is 
equally  certain  that  the  pious  and  sober-minded  re- 
garded it  with  due  horror.  But  it  seems  as  if  they 
need  not,  in  their  zeal  to  abate  the  evil,  have  resorted 
to  means  which  they  must  have  seen  would  in  many 
cases  have  seriously  obstructed  the  course  of  true  and 
worthy  love.  Zeal  and  consistency,  however,  are  not 
generally  found  to  be  yoke-fellows.  And  so  it  turned 
out  with  our  ancestors.  Though  incontinence  was 
so  abhorrent,  the  agreeable  custom  of  bundling  was 
in  some  sections  rather  encouraged  than  discounte- 
nanced, till  by  the  frequent  advent  of  the  dimpled 
fruits  came  serious  scandal. 


MARRIAGE. 

As  a  guard  against  irregular  and  improper  mar- 
riages, an  order  was  early  passed  by  the  General 
Court  requiring  the  intention  to  be  published  fourteen 
•days  before  the  consummation.  And  this  salutary 


366  IV.       THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

regulation,  in  substance,  continued  in  force  for  more 
than  two  hundred  years.  The  following  is  the  first 
enactment  on  the  subject : 

"  For  preventing  of  all  vnlawfull  marriages,  &c.,  it  is 
ordered,  that  after  dewe  publication  of  this  order,  noe 
persons  shalbee  ioyned  in  marriage  before  the  inten- 
tion of  the  parties  proceeding  therein  hath  bene  3 
times  published  at  some  time  of  publike  lecture  or 
towne  meeting,  in  both  the  townes  where  the  parties 
or  either  of  them  do  ordinarily  reside ;  &  in  such 
townes  where  no  lectures  are,  then  the  same  intention 
to  bee  set  vp  in  writing  vpon  some  poast  standing  in 
publike  viewe  &  used  for  such  purposes  onely,  &  there 
to  stand,  so  as  it  may  easily  bee  read,  by  the  space 
of  14  dayes.  And  all  townes  wch  have  no  weekly 
lecture  shall  fourthwth  appoint  or  set  vp  a  post  in 
some  publike  place,  to  bee  vsed  for  that  purpose 
onely,  vpon  paine  of  xs/ls-  the  month  for  default 
thereof."  [Court  Records,  Sept.  9,  1639. 

It  was  not  till  1686  that  ministers  were  authorized 
to  solemnize  marriages.  Before  that,  only  magis- 
trates, and  officers  specially  appointed,  could  tie  the 
knot  matrimonial.  This  is  singular,  considering  the 
extraordinary  respect  then  paid  to  ministers,  and 
perhaps  inexplicable  on  any  other  ground  than  that 
which  supposes  a  disposition  to  show  contempt  for 
the  church  of  England,  which,  under  ecclesiastical 
law,  invested  the  rite  with  peculiar  sanctity,  though 
not,  as  before  remarked,  giving  it  the  character  of  a 
sacrament,  as  does  the  Romish  church.  The  puritans 


MARRIAGE.  367 

here  placed  it  right  down  where  the  common  law  of 
England  left  it ;  on  the  ground  of  a  mere  civil  con- 
tract ;  and  then,  strangely  enough,  went  on  to  hedge 
it  about  with  such  restrictions  as  showed  that  in 
principle  it  was  viewed  in  a  light  very  different  from 
a  common  contract. 

All  along  among  the  proceedings  of  the  Court  may 
be  found  the  appointment  of  matrimonial  commission- 
ers, as  the  exigencies  of  time  and  place  required.  The 
following  appears  among  other  enactments  : 

"There  being  seuerall  tounes  wthin  this  jurisdiction 
who  are  not  only  remote  from  any  magistrate,  but 
also  destitute  of  any  person  impowred  to  solemnize 
marriage,  the  want  whereof  is  an  occasion  of  much 
trouble  &  sometjmes  disapointment,  which  to  prevent, 
it  is  ordered  that  Capt.  Johnson  for  Wooborne,  Left. 
French  for  Billirriky  &  Chelmsford,  Wm  Coudrey  for 
Reding,  Capt.  Marshall  for  Lynn,  [with  quite  a  num- 
ber of  others  for  different  places,]  shall  and  hereby 
are  appointed  &  empowred  to  joyne  in  marriage  such 
persons  wthin  their  respective  tounes  or  Ij mitts  as 
shall  desire  the  same,  being  published  according  to 
lawe."  [Court  Records,  Oct.  18,  1659. 

In  the  selection  of  persons  to  fill  so  important  an 
office,  no  doubt  pains  were  taken  to  have  men  of 
intelligence,  honor,  and  integrity.  Yet,  notwithstand- 
ing every  precaution  an  unsuitable  individual  would 
occasionally  slip  into  office ;  much  as  is  the  case  in 
our  day,  especially  as  to  those  offices  where  the  pay 
is  liberal.  And  the  larger  the  pay,  the  greater  the 


368  IV.      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS. 

danger,  perhaps,  though  the  popular  opinion  now 
seems  to  be  that  the  larger  the  pay  the  greater  the 
surety  of  obtaining  honest  service  —  indicating  that 
after  all  moral  worth  and  honor  may  be  merchantable 
articles,  or  have  a  clear  pecuniary  value. 

Of  Capt.  Marshall,  the  above-named  appointee  for 
Lynn,  we  must  say  a  few  words ;  for  he  dodges 
about  in  our  colonial  history  in  a  shape  sometimes 
rather  questionable.  His  doings  under  his  commis- 
sion rendered  him  quite  conspicuous  for  a  time,  for 
he  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  been  either  reserved  in 
his  manners  or  cautious  in  his  acts.  He  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  a  bad  man,  but  a  jolly,  rollicking, 
careless  body,  fond  of  a  good  time,  and  ready  to  assist 
others  in  what  seemed  to  him  the  chief  enjoyments 
of  life. 

He  was  so  ready  to  act  in  his  official  capacity, 
without  any  examination  as  to  whether  preliminary 
requisitions  had  been  complied  with,  and  was  withal 
so  easily  imposed  upon,  that  his  vicinage  became  a 
sort  of  Gretna  Green. 

Capt.  Marshall  kept  a  tavern,  which  was  for  a  long 
period  among  the  most  noted  in  all  New  England. 
It  was  on  the  great  eastern  road  from  Boston,  and 
the  same  one  before  spoken  of  in  these  pages,  as 
being  the  scene,  while  in  charge  of  Joseph  Armitage, 
of  some  romantic  and  touching  occurrences. 

He  appears  to  have  come  from  England  among  the 
early  settlers.  But  when  the  sun  of  the  Common- 
wealth was  struggling  up  amid  the  feudal  mists,  he 
was  seized  with  irrepressible  military  ardor,  and  buck- 
ling on  his  armor  hastened  to  enspirit,  by  his  valiant 


MARRIAGE.  369 

presence,  the  parliamentary  host.  The  value  of  his 
services  was  beyond  calculation  ;  for  by  his  bravery 
in  the  field  and  wisdom  in  the  council,  the  new  gov- 
ernment was  established  ;  at  least  so  it  was  according 
to  his  own  representation  ;  and  who,  better  than  he, 
could  know  what  wonders  he  had  accomplished. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned,  and  again 
took  up  his  abode  in  Lynn,  upon  the  margin  of  Sau- 
gus  river,  as  was  affirmed  because  that  stream  abound- 
ed with  luscious  eels,  of  which  he  was  immoderately 
fond.  And  it  may  be  incidentally  mentioned  that 
while  he  was  a  member  of  the  General  Court,  which 
was  for  several  years,  he  annually  invited  his  fellow- 
members  to  an  eel  supper  at  his  house ;  and  then  the 
poor  eels  were  forced  to  appear  in  every  guise  known 
to  the  cuisine  economy  —  in  fry,  stew,  or  baked  pie  ; 
under  a  crispy  crust  or  in  a  robe  of  browned  meal. 

It  was  after  his  return  from  the  war  that  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Court,  as  the  records  show.  He 
received  great  applause  for  his  soldierly  exploits ; 
and  the  scars  he  swore  by  were  the  admiration  of  all 
partisans  of  the  Commonwealth — and  that  is  about 
equivalent  to  saying  of  all  the  people. 

It  has  been  remarked,  in  a  general  way,  that  those 
soldiers  who  on  their  return  from  a  war  are  most 
boastful  of  their  valorous  achievements,  are  usually 
those  who  were  fortunately  out  of  the  way  of  the 
bullet  showers,  or  had  discretion  enough  to  retreat 
before  the  storms  ;  while  those  who  are  more  modest 
in  recounting  their  exploits,  are  such  as  show  stumps 
and  scars.  Judging  by  this  rule,  I  do  not  know  what 
to  say  of  Capt.  Marshall,  as  a  soldier.  He  had  no 
P*  24 


37°  IV-      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS. 

stumps  to  exhibit,  but  he  had  a  very  conspicuous 
scar  on  his  left  jowl.  It  was,  however,  like  the  scar 
which  adorned  another  famous  individual  who  figures 
in  this  volume,  a  variable  index  —  quite  a  weathercock 
of  a  scar  ;  for  it  not  only  answered  as  evidence  of  a 
murderous  thrust  of  a  cavalier,  in  a  hand-to-hand 
engagement,  but  as  evidence  of  a  merciless  blow  from 
the  tomahawk  of  a  savage,  and  again  as  the  mark  of 
the  tooth  of  a  ferocious  shark  who  had  endeavored  to 
make  a  meal  of  him.  But  there  was  another  explana- 
tion, given  by  an  unromantic  neighbor,  who  alleged 
that  he  was  present  when  the  wound  was  received. 
His  declaration  was  that  before  the  Captain  returned 
to  England  on  his  military  enterprise,  he  was  one 
day  eeling  with  him,  at  Mystic  river.  They  had  a 
little  keg  of  stimulant  which  they  placed  behind  a 
rock,  to  be  visited  by  either,  as  occasion  might  require. 
The  neighbor  was  some  distance  up  stream  most  of 
±he  afternoon,  and  when  he  returned  he  found  the 
'Captain  in  a  comatose  condition  seated  beside  the 
•empty  keg.  He  had  not  caught  a  single  eel,  but 
kept  muttering  something  about  Indians'  frightening 
them  away.  The  neighbor  was  alarmed  at  his  con- 
dition, and  having  raised  him  up  was  more  alarmed 
still  to  find  that  he  could  not  stand.  However,  he 
managed  to  brace  him  up  against  the  rock  while  he 
collected  their  apparatus  ;  but  just  as  he  was  turning 
back,  the  brace  under  his  chin  gave  way,  and  he 
reeled  over,  the  end  of  the  support  gouging  into  his 
cheek,  and  inflicting  a  really  serious  wound,  a  wound 
of  which  the  scar  in  question  remained  a  conspicuous 
remembrancer. 


MARRIAGE.  3/1 

Captain  Marshall  is  represented  to  have  taken  great 
pains  to  render  the  occasions  on  which  he  officiated 
by  virtue  of  his  commission  in  every  way  agreeable. 
His  best  room  would  be  illuminated  with  all  the 
brilliancy  that  the  most  ambitious  tallow-dips  were 
capable  of.  And  sometimes  the  savory  perfume  of 
divers  tall  bayberry  candles  floated  about  like  incense 
at  a  Jewish  bridal.  The  floor  would  rejoice  in  a 
covering  of  the  whitest  sand  that  the  neighboring 
beaches  afforded,  figured  off  as  cunningly  as  the  most 
dexterous  broom  could  work.  The  cheeriest  fire 
would  glow  on  the  ample  hearth,  if  the  blasts  of  win- 
•ter  stirred  without.  The  ponderous  high-back  settle 
would  be  drawn  into  the  most  conspicuous  position, 
to  receive  within  its  ample  arms,  the  happy  pair,  with 
the  groomsmen  and  bridemaids.  And  above  all,  the 
provident  host  would  be  sure  to  have  the  old  fiddler 
on  his  block  in  the  chimney  corner.  The  ceremony 
in  those  days  was  short  and  simple,  for  it  was  consid- 
ered as  much  a  "church  superstition"  to  have  a 
prayer  at  a  wedding  as  at  a  funeral.  Had  prayers 
been  demanded,  we  are  left  to  imagine  how  the  Cap- 
tain would  have  acquitted  himself.  He  is  represented 
to  have  been  so  off-hand  that  oftentimes  the  parties 
did  not  know  at  what  particular  point  of  time  they 
became  man  and  wife.  With  him,  the  attendant 
festivities  were  the  chief  thing ;  and  hence  it  is  not 
wonderful  that  he  should  once  in  a  while  have  become 
so  bewildered  as  to  lose  his  reckoning.  This  was  the 
case  in  relation  to  a  couple  who  came  to  be  married 
on  a  Thanksgiving  evening.  A.  more  than  ordinarily 
jolly  time  was  had,  and  the  pair  did  not  depart  till 


372       IV.   THE  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 

midnight.  After  he  had  retired  and  lay  reflecting  on 
the  events  of  the  evening,  it  suddenly  occurred  to 
him  that  he  had  not  married  them  at  all ;  though 
they  had  gone  off  in  the  happy  belief  that  they  were 
man  and  wife.  A  Thanksgiving  dinner  and  wedding 
party  in  one  day,  had  proved  too  much  for  him.  The 
pair  themselves  were  culpable  in  not  keeping  a  more 
careful  watch  on  the  proceedings  ;  but  they  probably 
anticipated  no  failure  of  duty  on  the  part  of  the  chief 
performer,  and  so  gave  themselves  no  anxiety. 

When  the  recollection  of  his  inexcusable  delin- 
quency flashed  upon  Capt.  Marshall  he  was  exces- 
sively disturbed.  He  turned  and  twisted  about  in, 
his  bed,  rose  up  in  end,  twitched  off  his  night-cap 
and  threw  it  across  the  floor,  then  got  up  and  replaced 
it,  and  performed  divers  other  equally  rational  antics. 
But  what  was  to  be  done  ?  It  came  to  that  question, 
after  all.  Should  he  post  right  off,  and  communicate 
to  the  twain  the  dread  fact,  and  try  forthwith  to  mend 
matters  as  well  as  he  could  ?  Why  no,  he  thought, 
it  would  be  downright  sin  to  disturb  them  at  such  a 
time.  So  he  concluded  to  let  the  matter  rest  till  the 
next  day. 

Early  on  the  following  morning,  the  pair  started 
on  a  short  visit  to  some  friends  in  Boston ;  so  that 
when  the  Captain  arrived  at  their  cosy  home,  they 
could  not  be  found.  He  was  now  almost  distracted 
at  what  he  had  done,  or  rather  at  what  he  had  left 
undone ;  perhaps  as  much  from  the  apprehension 
of  losing  custom  and  being  subjected  to  neighborly 
jokes,  when  the  matter  leaked  out,  as  from  any  other 
cause.  He  became  so  uneasy  that  in  the  afternoon 


MARRIAGE.  373 

he  mounted  his  nag  and  started  for  Boston  with  all 
possible  speed.  The  happy  pair  were  found  enjoying 
their  sweet  companionship  at  the  hospitable  abode 
of  a  worthy  draper.  And  having  no  time  to  lose  he 
drew  aside  the  surprised  Mr.  Ganderson  —  for  that, 
by  the  way,  was  the  name  of  the  would-be  bride- 
groom—  and  in  as  composed  a  manner  as  he  could 
command,  communicated  the  alarming  intelligence, 
proposing,  in  the  same  breath,  to  repair  all  damages, 
by  at  once  tying  the  matrimonial  knot.  And  what 
was  his  astonishment  to  receive  in  return  for  his 
generous  offer,  the  indifferent  reply,  "Well  done, 
Master  Marshall !  well  done !  And  haply  there  is  a 
providence  in  thy  delinquency,  which  we  may  do  well 
to  heed.  Indeed  I  already  begin  to  have  weighty 
misgivings  touching  the  desirableness  of  wedlock.  I 
thank  thee  for  thy  neighborly  office  in  informing  of 
thy  strange  omission ;  but  think  we  will  allow  the 
affair  to  rest  just  where  it  is,  looking  to  future  provi- 
dential direction.  But,  Captain,  is  it  so,  of  a  truth, 
or  art  thou  come  with  one  of  thy  canty  jokes  ? " 

The  Captain  was  completely  nonplused.  He  had 
been  ruminating  on  the  affair  for  many  hours,  and 
considering  the  possible  consequences  to  the  parties 
and  to  himself,  and  had  come  to  the  rational  conclu- 
sion that  nothing  but  an  immediate  marriage  would 
rectify  affairs.  And  so  that  unexpected  answer  was, 
of  all  things,  best  calculated  to  discompose  him.  He 
however  presently  rallied  sufficiently  to  raise  his  voice 
in  warm  expostulation  and  stormy  denunciation,  inso- 
much that  all  the  people  in  the  house  were  at  once 
drawn  about  them. 


374  IV-      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS. 

Mr.  Ganderson  received  the  outporing  of  indignant 
eloquence  with  the  most  provoking  unconcern,  which 
added  essentially  to  the  aggravation.  Finally,  the 
Seventh  Commandment  suggested  itself  to  the  aid 
of  the  Captain  ;  and  on  that  he  felt  sure  of  overcoming. 
On  it  he  exhorted,  and  on  it  he  predicated  the  direst 
threats.  But  as  the  threats  began  their  skirmishing, 
they  were  met  by  a  shocking  outburst  of  laughter 
from  the  gentleman  in  jeopardy,  who,  throwing  his 
arm  lovingly  around  his  partner  in  the  misadventure, 
significantly  asked  the  Captain  if  he  could  not  under- 
stand a  joke,  after  having  been  all  his  life  dealing  in 
such  articles  ;  adding  that  though  it  were  perhaps 
unseemly  to  joke  on  such  a  matter,  he  hoped  to  be 
excused,  for  really  he  had  felt  so  good  for  the  last 
dozen  or  two  hours  that  he  hardly  knew  what  he  did. 
This  brought  relief  and  good  nature.  And  it  was 
agreed  that  as  delays  are  dangerous,  and  the  parties 
stood  in  so  equivocal  a  position,  the  knot  should  be 
tied  forthwith  ;  they  being,  as  one  of  the  company 
pleasantly  observed,  already  as  good  as  man  and 
wife. 

The  ceremony  was  accordingly  performed  ;  hastily 
indeed,  but  surely ;  much  to  the  relief  of  all  concerned ; 
especially  to  the  Captain. 

And  then  the  rejoicing  official,  being  refreshed  by 
a  substantial  supper,  remounted  his  well-fed  horse, 
and  took  his  rugged  way  homeward.  It  was  a  moon- 
less night,  and  the  dark  woods  would  have  rendered 
the  journey  tedious  enough  had  not  his  heart  been 
so  light.  But  he  arrived  safely,  though  late,  and  was 
not  long  in  seeking  repose  upon  his  bed.  It  was 


MARRIAGE.  375 

natural  enough  that  the  events  of  the  day  should  be 
summoned  before  his  mind,  for  review,  before  sleep 
shut  down  the  gate.  Now  those  night  reviews, 
though  recommended  by  moralists,  are  just  the  sort 
of  things  that  often  murder  sleep.  If  most  of  us 
could  only  forget,  at  night,  what  we  have  done  during 
the  day,  our  sleep  would  be  less  disturbed.  Captain 
Marshall,  on  this  occasion,  would  certainly  have  slept 
better  had  he  dispensed  with  the  review,  for  the  recol- 
lection came  suddenly  upon  him,  that  Boston  was  not 
within  the  scope  of  his  commission,  and  that  he  had 
no  right  to  marry  people  there.  Some  of  his  fellow- 
officials,  on  whose  jurisdiction  he  had  trespassed,  he 
felt  assured  would  be  informed  of  his  proceeding;  and 
then  there  would  be  a  rumpus  ;  for  there  was  rivalry 
in  that  business  as  there  is  in  all  other.  The  effect 
of  the  Captain's  recollection  was  almost  overpowering. 
He  groaned  so  loudly  that  he  awoke  the  cook,  who 
slept  in  a  neighboring  apartment ;  and  she,  hastening 
to  his  bedside,  found  him,  as  she  supposed,  writhing 
from  a  severe  pain  in  the  bowels  —  his  "  drefful 
bowleyhake,"  as  she  called  it.  So  she  flew  to  the 
kitchen,  and  with  all  possible  despatch  returned  with 
an  overflowing  mug  of  peppermint-tea.  She  handed 
it  toward  him,  when  he  reared  up  and  gave  the  mug 
such  a  whack,  as  to  send  it  with  a  smash  against  the 
opposite  side  of  the  room,  aspersing  her  rusty  brown 
face  with  the  scalding  liquid.  This  she  took  as  a 
challenge  to  battle,  such  as  had  fiercely  raged  be- 
tween them  on  certain  special  occasions  before.  So 
she  seized  a  chair  and  began  to  lamm  and  punch 
him  with  all  her  might,  occasionally  exclaiming,  in 


3/6  IV.      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS. 

no  gentle  voice,  "  I  '11  give  you  a  bowleyhake,  you 
old  eel-pot  you  ! "  Pretty  much  all  he  could  do  was 
to  exercise  a  little  choice  as  to  what  part  of  his  body 
should  receive  the  blows  ;  and  this  he  did,  by  turning 
and  twisting,  and  presenting  this  or  that  member. 
It  must  be  seen  that  he  was  taken  at  great  disadvant- 
age, having  nothing  on  but  his  airy  night  robe,  and 
so  could  not  rise  and  grapple  with  his  adversary.  All 
the  time,  the  most  terrific  outcries  were  kept  up,  so 
that  the  whole  household  were  presently  aroused  and 
drawn  to  the  scene  of  action.  Forcible  intervention 
soon  restored  order.  The  heroine  returned  to  her 
virgin  couch,  and  the  mediators  dispersed,  without 
even  inquiring  into  the  cause  of  the  warfare,  probably 
supposing  it  to  have  been  of  a  piece  with  former 
frivolous  disagreements. 

The  scrimmage  gave  such  a  change  to  the  current 
of  the  Captain's  reflections,  or  rather  perhaps  so 
drove  all  reflection  from  him,  that  he  slept  soundly 
for  the  hour  or  two  remaining  before  daylight.  When 
he  awoke,  he  very  sensibly  resolved  to  repair,  as  soon 
as  his  morning  meal  was  over,  to  the  nearest  Assist- 
ant, and  in  a  private  way  lay  the  matter  of  his  trouble 
about  the  marriage  before  him  ;  which  resolution  he 
carried  into  effect. 

The  worthy  magistrate  informed  him  that  the  mar- 
riage was  a  good  one,  though  he  himself  might  be 
proceeded  against  for  exceeding  his  authority.  And 
he  generously  proposed,  as  the  Court  was  then  in 
session,  to  endeavor  to  get  an  order  through,  confirm- 
ing his  doings,  and  relieving  him  from  any  penalty, 
no  particular  harm  having  ensued.  And  being  a 


MARRIAGE.  377 

man  of  influence,  and  one  never  known  to  advocate 
a  wrong  measure,  he  had.no  difficulty  in  effecting  his 
neighborly  purpose. 

Thus  were  all  the  wounds  healed  and  embarrass- 
ments obviated.  And  the  bride  and  the  bridegroom, 
the  jolly  Captain,  the  brown  faced  cook,  and  all  con- 
cerned, began  again  to  jog  along  life's  busy  road,  as 
calmly  and  comfortably  as  if  the  threatening  obstruc- 
tions had  never  interposed. 

One  would  have  supposed  that  Captain  Marshall's 
experience  in  this  case  would  have  led  him  to  exer- 
cise extreme  caution  in  the  future.  But  that  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  the  happy  result.  He  soon 
became  as  careless  as  ever,  and  as  unable  to  resist 
any  wayward  application  for  the  exercise  of  his  office. 
His  love  for  the  good  times  grew  upon  him  ;  and 
it  would  be  interesting  to  draw  his  picture,  as  he 
appeared  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  one  of  his  parties, 
after  he  had  riveted  the  bonds  of  love. 

Laying  aside  his  coat  and  his  magistratic  dignity, 
in  precipitate  haste,  and  in  defiance  of  the  law  prohib- 
iting dancing,  he  would  claim  it  as  his  prerogative  to 
have  a  trip-on-toe  with  the  blushing  bride.  Then  his 
fat  sides  would  shake,  and  his  great  feet  would  rise 
and  fall  with  a  noise  like  the  thumps  of  a  fulling  mill. 
The  sweat  would  drip  from  his  face,  and  his  enor- 
mous round-glassed  spectacles,  shaking  from  their 
nasal  perch,  would .  be  kicked  aside,  to  be  replaced 
when  a  sufficient  pause  in  the  irresistible  music  of 
the  fiddle  allowed. 

Weddings  were  seasons  of  great  hilarity ;  often 
unbecomingly  so.  And  the  Captain  did  his  part  to 


3/8  IV.       THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

make  them  what  they  were,  and  bring  about  the  state 
of  things  which  forced  the  Court  to  reiterate  its  pro- 
hibitory mandate  against  dancing  generally,  and  es- 
pecially at  marriages.  Certain  it  is,  there  were  evils 
which  called  loudly  for  reform.  As  late  as  1719,  the 
Boston  ministers  pronounced  weddings  to  be  times 
of  "  riotous  irregularities." 

The  Captain  continued  to  administer  his  office  in 
such  an  eccentric  manner  that  the  Court  finally  re- 
voked his  commission.  The  proceedings  in  the  case 
show  how  the  matter  stood  in  their  minds,  though 
it  is  evident  that  the  white-wash  brush  was  an  imple- 
ment not  unknown  at  that  unsophisticated  period,  if  it 
is  in  this  cunning  age.  The  record  stands  thus : 

"The  Court,  being  informed  that  Capt.  Thomas 
Marshall  hath  of  late  marrjed  some  persons  not  legally 
published,  on  the  examination  of  the  case,  finde  that 
he  was  abused  by  the  misinformation  of  some,  by  his 
oune  over  much  credulity,  and  that  he  hath  exceeded 
the  comission  by  marrying  persons  not  living  in  the 
toune,  wch  might  be  occasioned  vpon  some  mistake 
of  the  extent  of  his  comission,  wch  this  Court  hath 
now  more  clearly  explicated,  to  prevent  the  like 
inconvenience,  &  judge  meet  to  dischardge  the  sajd 
Capt.  Marshall  from  officyating  in  that  imployment." 
[Court  Records,  May  31,  1670. 

"  Overmuch  credulity,"  forsooth  !  The  Court  must 
have  said  that  with  its  thumb  against  its  nose,  figura- 
tively speaking ;  as  it  says  a  great  many  things, 
now-a-days.  The  moving  cause  of  the  action  was 


MARRIAGE.  379 

probably  the  Hope  Allen  case,  of  which  brief  notice 
should  be  taken. 

Mr.  Allen  appears  to  have  had  a  strong  desire  to 
get  a  daughter,  then  of  marriageable  age,  off  his  hands ; 
but  there  was  no  harm  in  that.  And  she,  with  mat- 
ronly aspirations/ had  no  disposition  to  thwart  his 
desire  ;  nor  was  there  harm  in  that.  And  as  a  third 
party  was  necessary  to  the  success  of  the  scheme, 
they  somehow  roped  in  a  promising  young  man 
named  Deacon  ;  was  there  harm  in  that  ?  Ah  !  there 
the  fact  of  innocence  is  not  quite  so  apparent. 

A  Boston  magistrate  was  applied  to,  to  perform  that 
delicate  problem  in  matrimonial  arithmetic,  which  by 
adding  two  together  makes  one — or,  in  plain  English, 
they  applied  to  him  to  marry  them.  But  he  promptly 
refused,  not  being  satisfied  that  they  were  legally 
published. 

On  this,  the  undaunted  Hope,  with  the  docile  pair, 
hied  to  the  elysian  fields  of  Lynn,  the  jurisdiction 
of  Capt.  Marshall,  taking  with  them  another  con- 
spirator, named  John  Pease. 

Almost  before  they  knew  it,  after  reaching  the 
lovers'  refuge,  the  two  were  man  and  wife,  and  a 
smoking  eel-pie  was  before  them.  They  returned  to 
Boston,  prepared  to  look  the  magistrate  who  had 
refused  to  unite  them,  defiantly  in  the  face.  But  the 
matter  created  a  good  deal  of  talk,  though  what  gave 
it  the  great  importance  that  seems  to  have  been 
attached  to  it  does  not  appear.  The  Court,  as  has 
been  seen,  annulled  the  Captain's  commission.  And 
now  we  will  show  how  Mr.  Allen,  the  bride's  father, 
and  the  conspirator  Pease  were  dealt  with  : 


38O  IV.       THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

"  Hope  Allin  &  John  Pease,  being  sent  for,  appeared 
in  Court,  &  ye  sajd  John  Pease  acknouldged,  that 
notwthstanding  the  counsell  of  the  major  general!, 
who  had  declined  ye  marrying  of  Mr  Deacon  to  Hope 
Allins  daughter,  he  did  accompany  them  to  Lynn,  to 
Capt.  Marshall,  &c.,  and  Hope  Allin  declared  he  did 
give  his  consent  yl  ye  sajd  Mr  Deacon  should  haue 
his  daughter,  &  told  Capt.  Marshall  yl  he  hoped  they 
might  be  legally  published  before  y*  time,  &c.,  the 
Court  judged  it  meet  to  censure  the  sajd  Hope  Allin 
to  pay  tenn  pounds  as  a  fine  to  the  country  for  his 
irregular  proceedure,  &  John  Pease  forty  shillings." 
[Court  Records,  May  31,  1670. 


DIVORCE. 

Having  seen  something  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  matrimonial  victims  were  bound,  it  remains  to  be 
seen  how  they  were  unbound.  A  few  pages  back 
we  made  a  remark  or  two  on  the  subject  of  divorce. 
It  is  a  matter  of  very  grave  importance,  and  one  on 
which  we  hear  greatly  differing  opinions  expressed. 
The  General  Court  took  jurisdiction,  original  and 
appellate,  apparently  determining  every  case  on  its 
merits,  regardless  of  precedent  and  without  fixed  rule. 
And  we  now  propose  citing  one  or  two  instances  to 
show  their  manner  of  proceeding : 

"  In  the  case  of  Rachell  Langton,  or  Varney,  the 
Court  judgeth  it  meete  to  declare,  that  shee  is  free 
from  hir  late  husband,  Joseph  Langton."  [Court 
Records,  May  22,  1661. 


DIVORCE.  381 

There  is  no  circumlocution,  no  red  tape,  here  ;  and 
Rachel,  no  doubt,  made  a  courtesy  to  the  Court  and 
went  on  her  way  rejoicing.  Joseph,  too,  perhaps, 
made  a  bow  and  went  on  his  other  way  rejoicing  with 
equal  joy.  The  cause  of  the  separation  does  not 
appear. 

Here  is  another  case,  in  which  the  Court  was  un- 
gallant  enough  to  refuse  a  lady's  petition : 

"  In  ansr  to  the  petition  of  Margaret  Bennet,  in 
behalf  of  Mary  White,  her  daughter,  humbly  desiring 
to  be  set  free  from  Elias  White,  hir  husband,  for  his 
deficjency,  &c.,  in  hir  peticon  &  by  witnesses  therein 
exprest  &  prooved,  the  Court  judgeth  it  not  meete  to 
graunt  hir  request."  [Court  Records,  Oct.  21,  1663. 

We  do  not  learn  in  what  particular  Elias  was  defi- 
cient. But  as  every  man  and  woman  on  earth  is 
deficient  in  something,  if  divorces  were  granted  ac- 
cordingly, the  matrimonial  fetters  would  prove  but 
cobwebs.  Perhaps  the  mother-in-law  intermeddled. 

The  next  case  seems  to  have  been  one  with  which 
the  Court  itself  hardly  knew  how  to  deal : 

"  In  ansr  to  the  petition  of  Elizabeth  Steevens,  wife 
of  Henry  Steevens,  it  appearing  to  the  Court  that  the 
sajd  Henry  Steevens  hath  deserted  his  wife  and  held 
vnlawfull  familiarity  wth  another  woman,  this  Court 
judgeth  it  meete  to  declare,  that  the  petitioner  marry- 
ing any  other  man  shall  not  be  indangered  thereby  as 
a  transgressour  of  our  lawes."  [Court  Records,  Oct. 
12,  1670. 


382       .  IV.       THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

This  curious  decree  was  of  course  intended  to  ope- 
rate as  a  divorce  ;  otherwise  it  allowed  her  to  have 
two  husbands.  Henry  should  have  been  ashamed  to 
be  dallying  with  another  woman,  and  deserved  to  lose 
his  wife. 

The  following  is  an  instance  wherein  the  Court  of 
Assistants  undertook  to  divorce  a  couple,  and  had 
their  doing  reversed  on  an  appeal  to  the  General 
Court.  The  latter  say  : 

"  In  ansr  to  ye  peticon  of  George  Halsall,  humbly 
desiring  that  Jane  his  wife,  lately  divorced  from  him 
by  the  Court  of  Assistants,  1656,  may  be  restoured  to 
him,  &c.,  the  Court  on  a  hearing  of  the  matter  con- 
tejned  in  his  petition,  and  duly  considering  of  all 
the  evidences  by  both  partjes  produced  in  the  case, 
doe  order,  that  the  judgment  of  the  sajd  Court  of 
Assistants  in  refference  thereto  be  voyd,  and  that 
the  sajd  George  Halsal  shall  haue  and  enjoy  the  sajd 
Joane  Halsal  his  wife  againe."  [Court  Records,  Nov. 
12,  1659. 

One  would  have  thought  he  could  not  have  enjoyed 
her  much  after  her  jtantrums.  They  had  been  sepa- 
rated some  three  years,  but  his  affection  seems  to 
have  survived.  And  the  same,  apparently,  was  the 
case  with  her  aversion.  Or,  perhaps,  it  was  another 
of  those  cases  where  a  mischief  making  mother-in-law 
interfered. 

Divorces  for  desertion  do  not  appear  to  have  been 
uncommon.  There  were  a  good  many  adventurers 
here,  who  probably  took  wives,  and  when  they  became 


DIVORCE.  383 

tired  of  them,  or  wished  to  return  to  the  old  country 
unencumbered,  deserted  them.  And  not  a  few  were 
found  to  have  a  wife  or  two  on  either  side  of  the 
water.  The  jurisprudence  of  New  England  always 
regarded  desertion  as  a  sufficient  ground  for  divorce  ; 
and  justly  so,  as  it  defeats  the  chief  purposes  of  the 
marriage  relation.  In  addition  to  the  cases  spoken 
of  the  following  may  properly  be  given  : 

"  In  ansr  to  the  peticon  of  Mary  Madox,  the  Court 
hailing  read  &  considered  the  contents  of  this  petition 
doe  judge  &  declare,  that  ye  condition  of  the  petitioner 
being  indeed  circumstanced  as  she  hath  therein  de- 
clared, yl  her  husband  Henry  Maddox,  having  binn 
absent  for  a  thirteen  yeares  &  never  wrote  or  sent 
to  hir  in  yl  time,  she  is  at  liberty  from  the  conju- 
gall  bond  made  wth  the  sajd  Maddox  &  at  liberty  to 
dispose  of  hirselfe  as  she  shall  see  meete."  [Court 
Records,  May  9,  1678. 

It  would  not  be  remarkable  if  this  Mr.  Maddox 
were  of  the  progeny  of  the  conscientious  Maddox 
before  spoken  of  in  this  volume  ;  but  no  matter  about 
that.  The  ground  taken,  in  this  case,  was,  no  doubt, 
his  presumed  death.  And  so,  very  likely,  was  the 
husband's  death  presumed,  in  the  earlier  case  of 
Pester,  which  was  disposed  of  as  follows  : 

"  Mris  Dorothy  Pester,  whose  husband  went  to  Eng- 
land some  ten  yeares  since,  &  was  neuer  to  this  day 
heard  of,  vppon  her  petition  to  this  Court,  hath  lib- 
erty graunted  her  to  marry  when  God  by  his  provi- 


384  IV.       THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS. 

dence  shall  afford  her  an  oppertunitie."     [Court  Re- 
cords, May  31,  1652. 

Whether  God  ever  afforded  her  an  opportunity  to 
get  married  again,  or  her  truant  husband  ever  Pester- 
ed her  or  any  other  woman  afterward,  the  records  do 
not  show. 

The  question  whether  a  man  can  rightfully  marry 
his  deceased  wife's  sister,  has  long  been  earnestly 
debated  in  almost  every  part  of  the  Christian  world  — 
the  Protestant  at  least ;  as  the  Catholic  and  Greek 
churches  do  not  allow  the  connection  ;  nor  the  Church 
of  England,  so  far  as  it  can  exercise  authority.  And 
it  is  probably  true  that  at  the  present  time  a  large 
majority  in  the  protestant  sects  hold,  on  scriptural 
grounds,  that  such  marriages  are  not  allowable.  Not- 
withstanding this,  New  England,  at  the  present  day, 
regards  with  no  disfavor  such  alliances  —  and  is  not 
New  England  the  wisest  place  on  the  footstool  ? 
The  fathers  of  the  Bay  Colony,  however,  did  not  view 
this  matter  in  the  light  their  sons  do  ;  but  then  their 
lantern  was  dimmer.  The  Court  say : 

"  In  ansr  to  the  quaestion,  whither  it  be  lawfull  for 
a  man  that  hath  buried  his  first  wife  to  marry  wth  hir 
that  was  his  first  wives  natturall  sister,  the  Court 
resolves  it  on  the  negative."  [Court  Records,  May 
31,  1670. 

We  shall  close  our  extracts,  in  this  connection,  with 
the  following,  which  aims  to  keep  the  peace  of  families. 


IV.      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS.  385 

But  alas,  it  requires  a  power  greater  than  a  Great  and 
General  Court,  to  secure  such  a  desirable  end : 

"  Itt  is  ordered  by  this  Courte,  and  the  authoritje 
that  no  man  shall  strike  his  wife,  nor  any  woman  her 
husband,  on  penalty  of  such  fine  not  exceeding  tenn 
pounds  for  one  offence,  or  such  corporall  punishment 
as  the  Shire  Court  that  hath  the  examination  thereof 
shall  determine."  [Court  Records,  Oct.  15,  1650. 

So  the  un courtly  legislators  assumed  that  a  wife 
might  be  guilty  of  striking,  as  well  as  a  husband ; 
and  the  validity  of  the  assumption  seems  unfortu- 
nately to  be  borne  out  by  the  records.  Among  the 
cases  in  the  shire  court  of  Essex,  in  1680,  we  find 
that  of  the  wife  of  John  Davis,  who  was  presented 
"  for  breaking  her  husband's  head  with  a  quart  pot." 

The  sin  of  incontinence,  as  before  remarked,  was 
regarded  with  due  horror.  And  when  the  marriage 
fold  itself  was  invaded  the  penalty  of  death  was  not 
considered  too  severe.  The  case  of  Mary  Latham, 
whicli  occurred  in  1643,  created  a  good  deal  of  sensa- 
tion, and  possessed  elements  more  than  ordinarily 
affecting. 

She  appears  to  have  been  well  bred,  and  belonged 
to  a  pious  family.  When  about  eighteen  years  of  age 
she  became  deeply  in  love  with  a  young  man,  who 
does  not  appear  to  have  reciprocated  her  ardent  feel- 
ings. This  had  a  serious  effect  upon  her,  and  she 
rashly  vowed  that  as  she  could  not  v/ed  the  real  object 
of  her  affections,  she  would  marry  the  first  who  pre- 
Q  25 


386  IV.      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS. 

sented  himself.  And  accordingly  she  soon  became 
the  wife  of  a  very  unsuitable  person  ;  a  man  old,  poor, 
weak-minded,  and  depraved  ;  one  for  whom  she  could 
have  no  esteem,  to  say  nothing  of  love. 

They  led  an  exceedingly  unhappy  life,  and  soon 
abandoned  themselves  to  a  terribly  vicious  course, 
entertaining  the  lowest  company,  and  engaging  in 
scenes  of  the  most  revolting  description.  Among 
their  associates  was  one  James  Britton,  of  Wey- 
mouth,  who  had  long  been  marked  by  the  authorities 
as  a  most  turbulent  fellow,  and  who,  as  appears  by 
the  records,  was,  on  the  i$th  of  March,  1639,  "cen- 
sured to  be  whipped,"  for  some  of  his  evil  deeds. 

They  carried  on  their  lewd  orgies  with  such  a  high 
hand,  scoffing  at  all  admonitions,  that  it  was  finally 
determined  to  apply  the  utmost  rigors  of  the  law. 
They  were  complained  of  for  the  most  grievous  of  the 
mutually  voluntary  offences  in  the  catalogue  of  lewd- 
ness.  And  there  was  abundant  evidence  to  ensure 
conviction.  Indeed,  after  the  trial  she  confessed  the 
fact.  They  were  both  condemned  to  death.  And 
their  execution  speedily  followed. 

Winthrop  says  the  young  woman  died  penitently, 
"  and  gave  good  exhortation  to  all  young  maids  to  be 
obedient  to  their  parents,  and  to  take  heed  of  evil 
company."  Britton,  after  his  condemnation,  mani- 
fested great  reluctance  to  die,  and  petitioned  the 
General  Court,  to  annul  or  commute  his  sentence ; 
but  they  would  not.  Some  of  the  magistrates,  how- 
ever, questioning  "  whether  adultery  was  death  by 
God's  law  now,"  a  warm  debate  sprang  up.  But  the 
result  did  not  save  Britton's  neck. 


IV.      THE   DOMESTIC   RELATIONS.  387 

The  Domestic  Relations  certainly  constitute  one 
of  the  most  weighty  of  subjects.  But  our  limits  will 
not  admit  of  further  details.  And  with  one  or  two 
additional  general  reflections  we  must  close  this 
chapter. 

It  is  not  easy  to  fully  recognize  the  various  interests 
and  duties  that  cluster  around  the  matrimonial  con- 
nection. The  highest  earthly  hopes  and  most  fervid 
sympathies  are  there  ;  and  so  are  the  purest  delights  ; 
all  mingled  with  cold  realities,  anxieties,  and  neces- 
sitous exactions.  Marriage  is  not  only  a  union  of 
hearts,  but  a  union  of  interests  ;  and  in  considering  it 
from  without,  the  sanguine  seeker  after  happiness  is 
apt  to  recognize  only  its  more  endearing  promises — a 
circumstance  which  doubtless  gives  birth,  after  the 
fold  is  entered,  to  a  dismal  brood  of  disappointments 
and  vexations.  The  objects  of  ill-founded  hope  and 
expectation  vanish  away  like  fantoms.  Where  the 
connection  is  entered  into  with  a  just  appreciation 
of  its  responsibilities  and  requirements,  with  a  de- 
termination to  deserve  its  blessings,  and  with  a  due 
sense  of  the  imperfection  of  all  mortals  and  of  all 
things  mortal,  it  will  be  a  rare  case  where  it  does  not 
prove  a  success.  But  when  impulse,  romantic  enthu- 
siasm, unripe  judgment  or  unworthy  scheming  takes 
the  lead,  many  and  many  a  weary  month  of  baffled 
hopes  may  be  counted  on. 

The  ardent  youth,  when  looking  forward  in  blissful 
anticipation,  is  led  by  nature  herself  to  consider,  al- 
most exclusively,  the  sweets  of  the  connection.  The 
sadder  incidents  which  are  sure  to  be  encountered, 
sooner  or  later,  seldom  becloud  the  pleasing  view. 


388  IV.      THE  DOMESTIC   RELATIONS. 

Perhaps  dame  nature  arranged  this  so,  foreseeing 
that  if  she  permitted  her  sons  and  daughters  to  realize 
the  entire  condition  of  affairs,  none  of  them  would  ever 
enter  the  marriage  state. 

In  such  matters,  the  young  are  very  much  inclined 
to  think  the  old  mere  ill-judging  mal-contents.  But 
the  counsel  of  the  advanced  and  experienced  may 
save  from  most  ruinous  plunges.  It  must  be  added, 
however,  that  there  appears  to  be  a  sagacity  in  what 
we  call  true  love,  that  is  so  penetrating  and  discerning, 
that  it  may  be  questioned  whether  it  is  not  in  many 
cases  as  safe  to  be  trusted  as  the  cool  calculations 
of  those  who  are  liable  to  be  led  by  worldly  conside- 
rations and  prejudices.  The  counsel  of  parents  should 
never  be  withheld  from  their  sons  and  daughters ; 
but  positive  opposition  has  many  dangers,  unless  it 
springs  from  the  clearest  reason. 

Physical  proprieties  are  too  much  overlooked  in  the 
preliminary  consideration  of  marriage.  They  have 
much  to  do  with  the  weal  or  woe  of  the  parties  imme- 
diately concerned  and  with  the  well-being  of  the  race. 
The  most  valuable  product  of  any  community  is  good 
men  and  women  —  good  morally,  intellectually,  and 
physically  ;  gold  and  precious  stones  are  not  to  be 
named  in  comparison.  The  deterioration  of  nations 
even,  is,  without  doubt,  more  often  to  be  attributed 
to  ill-assorted  marriages  than  men  are  accustomed  to 
believe. 

Were  it  not  so  serious  a  matter,  it  would  be  amus- 
ing to  recount  the  strange  and  even  ridiculous  ideas 
some  men  have  in  relation  to  the  qualities  desirable 
in  a  wife.  Perhaps  a  large  majority  in  the  civilized 


IV.      THE    DOMESTIC    RELATIONS.  389 

world,  justly  conceive  that  the  proper  position  of  a 
wife  is  that  of  a  companion,  a  bosom  companion,  a 
companion  in  joy  and  sorrow ;  and  their  choice  is 
supposed  to  be  governed  accordingly.  Others  seem 
to  choose  their  wives  literally  as  helps.  Others,  again, 
choose  them  simply  as  household  ornaments.  Then 
there  are  those  who  entertain  a  mortal  dread  of  being 
linked  to  wives  of  stronger  powers  than  themselves ; 
and  not  being  able  to  relinquish  the  manly  desire  to 
be  always  captain  of  the  domestic  train-band,  choose 
from  the  most  submissive  and  simple.  And  as  to 
others,  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  determine  what  does 
direct  their  choice. 

But  space  will  allow  of  no  farther  consideration 
of  this  interesting  class  of  topics.  The  relation  of 
husband  and  wife,  while  it  is  the  dearest  in  life  is  also 
one  of  the  greatest  responsibility.  Results  attend  the 
connection,  which  reach  on  from  generation  to  gene- 
ration—  results  materially  affecting  mind,  body,  and 
estate.  Literally  are  the  sins  of  parents  often  visited 
on  children  of  the  third  and  fourth  generation.  The 
union  of  a  man  and  woman,  or,  if  you  please,  of  a  boy 
and  girl,  will  sometimes  effect  what  a  war  of  nations 
could  not,  and  may  give  character  to  a  whole  race. 
And  in  every  sphere  of  life,  how  are  fortunes  made 
or  marred  by  the  quiet  operation  of  the  simplest 
marriage  rite ;  and  how  is  a  lifetime  of  happiness  or 
woe  secured. 

And  then,  as  to  the  few  individuals  whose  matri- 
monial infelicities  have  been  spoken  of.  So  long  a 
time  has  elapsed  since  their  sad  experiences  that  we 
can  know  nothing  of  the  intensity  of  the  sorrows  that 


3QO       IV.   THE  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 

forced  them  to  appeal  to  the  public  tribunals  and  lay 
open  their  griefs  to  the  jests  and  sneers  of  the  incon- 
siderate and  unfeeling.  But  they  are  all  now  at 
rest  from  their  cares  and  strifes.  One  by  one  they 
went  down  to  the  dark  valley,  whither  we  are  all 
bound,  and  for  generation  after  generation  have  slept 
the  lonely  sleep  of  death,  their  loves  quenched,  their 
bickerings  ended. 


CHAPTER  V 


EDUCATIONAL  GLIMMERINGS. 

AMONG  all  the  great  objects  that  claimed  the 
attention  of  our  excellent  forefathers,  while 
laying  the  foundations  of  our  social  fabric,  none 
seemed  of  higher  importance,  or  called  for  more 
earnest  reflection  than  Education.  They  evidently 
had  a  realizing  sense  of  their  duty  in  respect  to  it 
and  determined  faithfully  to  acquit  themselves ;  never 
doubting  that  thus  would  the  highest  blessings  be 
secured  for  themselves,  their  children,  and  their  chil- 
dren's children.  With  the  following  extract  from  the 
early  records  we  commence  our  limited  investigation : 

"  It  being  one  cheife  project  of  y1  ould  deluder, 
Satan,  to  keepe  men  from  the  knowledge  of  ye  Scrip- 
tures, as  in  formr  times  by  keeping  ym  in  an  unknowne 
tongue,  so  in  these  lattr  times  perswading  from  ye  use 
of  tongues,  y*  so  at  least  y6  true  sence  &  meaning 
of  ye  originall  might  be  clouded  by  false  glosses  of 
saint  seeming  deceivers,  y*  learning  might  not  be 
buried  in  ye  grave  of  or  fathrs  in  ye  church  &  comon- 
wealth,  the  Lord  assisting  or  endeavors,  —  It  is  there- 
fore ordred,  yl  evry  towneship  in  this  jurisdiction,  aftr 
(390 


392  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

y*  Lord  hath  increased  ym  to  ye  number  of  50  house- 
holdrs,  shall  then  forthwtb  appoint  one  wthin  theire 
towne  to  teach  all  such  children  as  shall  resort  to 
him  to  write  and  reade,  whose  wages  shall  be  paid 
eithr  by  ye  parents  or  mastrs  of  such  children,  or  by 
ye  inhabitants  in  genrall,  by  way  of  supply,  as  ye  major 
part  of  those  y*  ordr  ye  prudentials  of  ye  towne  shall 
appoint ;  provided,  those  y*  send  their  children  be 
not  oppressed  by  paying  much  more  yn  they  can  have 
ym  taught  for  in  othr  townes  ;  and  it  is  further  ordered 
y*  where  any  towne  shall  increase  to  ye  numbr  of  100 
families  or  household1"8,  they  shall  set  up  a  gramer 
schoole,  ye  mr  thereof  being  able  to  instruct  youth  so 
farr  as  they  may  be  fited  for  ye  university,  provided,  y* 
if  any  towne  neglect  ye  performance  hereof  above  one 
yeare,  y1  every  such  towne  shall  pay  5/.  to  ye  next 
schoole  till  they  shall  performe  this  order."  [Court 
Records,  Nov.  11,  1647. 

This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  general  order 
that  the  Court  passed  for  the  establishment  of  a 
school  system,  in  Massachusetts ;  though  "  divers 
free  schools  were  erected "  in  Boston,  Roxbury,  and 
a  few  other  places,  a  year  or  two  before,  and  though 
something  is  said  about  the  neglect  of  parents  and 
masters  to  "  train  up  their  children  in  learning,"  in 
the  Court  proceedings  as  early  as  1642  ;  in  which 
year,  Governor  Dudley  writes,  "there  is  a  want  of 
schoolmasters  hereabouts." 

By  the  preamble  to  the  foregoing  order,  it  would 
appear  that  one  of  the  chief  purposes  in  providing 
educational  means  for  all,  was  to  enable  them  to 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  393 

circumvent  the  devil  in  his  attempts  to  keep  them 
from  a  knowledge  of  the  scriptures  —  a  right  worthy 
purpose,  too,  most  certainly.  They  manifested  extra- 
ordinary veneration  for  the  holy  book,  and  ardently 
desired  that  every  one  might  enjoy  its  blessings. 
They  would  have  it  in  every  man's  hands,  for  study 
and  meditation.  But  yet  they  wanted  it  studied  and 
meditated  upon  according  to  their  convictions.  Any 
one  might  read,  digest,  and  interpret,  for  himself — 
provided  he  did  so  in  conformity  to  their  faith. 
They  never,  in  words,  required  any  one  to  peruse  the 
holy  book  through  their  spectacles.  But  how  much 
better  did  they  do  ?  Ask  the  spirits  of  Roger  Wil- 
liams and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  —  ask  the  whole  Antino- 
mian  brood  —  ask  the  Quakers. 

The  absurdity  of  allowing  individul  interpretation 
of  human  law  was  fully  realized  ;  but  on  God's  great 
law  they  allowed  an  airy  freedom  to  all  —  the  virtuous 
and  the  strong,  the  corrupt  and  the  weak  —  that  is, 
they  allowed  it  theoretically  ;  but  practically  they  did 
no  such  thing.  And  does  not  that  theory,  whenever 
adopted  appear  coupled  with  inconsistent  acts  ? 

Little  did  the  sturdy  Nicholas  Willis,  a  Boston 
member,  who  introduced  this  order,  realize  what  an 
affluent  mine  he  was  opening,  what  a  vast  amount  of 
intellectual  power  would  be  developed  by  the  simple 
machinery  he  was  putting  in  motion  —  a  power  unut- 
terably more  beneficial  to  our  undone  race  than  that 
which  gives  motion  to  all  the  clattering  and  shrieking 
machinery  beneath  heaven's  blue  canopy.  Could  he 
have  looked  down  the  vista  of  years  and  beheld  the 
little  school-houses,  springing  up  in  everv  settlement, 
Q* 


394  v-      EDUCATIONAL   GLIMMERINGS. 

and  so  following  the  march  of  civilization  as  to  form 
outworks  all  along  the  ever-expanding  frontier,  their 
red  tops  gleaming  cheerily  in  the  sunshine  and  speak- 
ing of  mystery  and  power  to  the  dejected  race  who 
receded  before  them  —  he  would  have  felt  that  his 
endeavors  were  not  in  vain.  And  could  he  have  cast 
his  eye  still  farther  along  to  this  our  day,  and  beheld 
the  noble  edifices  that  have  succeeded  those  humble 
seats  of  learning,  what  would  have  been  his  emotions. 
And  if  he  could,  with  the  eye  of  a  seer,  have  seen 
sporting  about  the  doors  of  those  primitive  shrines, 
in  tattered  raiment  and  with  shoeless  feet,  the  embryo 
heroes  who  were  to  subdue  the  wilderness  and  defeat 
invading  foes,  the  sages  who  were  to  shape  the  prin- 
ciples which  were  to  make  our  nation  great,  he  might 
indeed  have  been  thrilled  with  a  joy  like  that  felt  by 
earth's  most  applauded  benefactors. 

The  first  clergy  here,  were,  most  of  them,  learned 
men,  having  been  bred  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church, 
which  required  of  those  who  ministered  at  her  altars 
something  more  than  alleged  calls  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel ;  some  farther  recommendation  than  simple  piety. 
Many  of  them,  in  connection  with  their  other  duties 
became  teachers  of  youth.  And  they  knew  well  the 
value  of  education  beyond  its  power  in  securing  mere 
success  in  life ;  they  knew  of  the  benefits  and  happi- 
ness that  flow  from  intellectual  attainment ;  they 
knew,  in  short,  the  value  of  learning  as  a  weapon  in 
the  constant  warfare  against  "yl  ould  deluder  Satan." 

Very  little  learning  was  indeed  required  in  the 
transaction  of  the  limited  business  of  that  day ;  and 
it  would  be  quite  irrational  to  conclude  that  the 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  395 

schools  were  established  for  the  fitting  of  youth  for 
that  alone.  No,  no,  it  would  be  doing  our  ancestors 
great  injustice  to  suppose  any  such  thing,  particularly 
against  their  own  recorded  declarations.  Their  mo- 
tives were  higher  and  holier,  and  we,  their  obliged 
descendants,  are  called  upon  by  every  consideration 
of  honor  and  gratitude,  to  revere  and  bless  their 
memory. 

But  after  a  generation  or  two  had  passed  from  the 
time  the  Massachusetts  settlements  began,  there  ap- 
peared a  class  of  native  preachers,  very  poorly  quali- 
fied for  the  sacred  office,  excepting,  perhaps,  in  the 
matter  of  piety.  And  many  of  these,  too,  performed 
the  duties  of  teachers  of  youth.  They  were  harsh 
and  rigid  in  their  views  of  truth  and  duty,  and  their 
uncongenial  spirits  were  manifested  alike  in  their 
preaching  and  severity  of  discipline.  Learning  passed 
through  a  long  interval  of  languishment.  Indeed  it 
was  not  till  after  the  Revolution  that  the  good  seeds 
so  early  sown  began  to  produce  their  best  fruits. 

But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  term  "  free 
school "  has  at  this  day  a  more  comprehensive  signifi- 
cation than  it  formerly  had.  The  schools  were  not 
then  free,  in  a  full  sense.  Voluntary  contributions 
were  received,  and  assessments  levied  upon  those 
who  had  children  to  send ;  but  it  was  not  deemed  just 
that  those  who  had  neither  children  nor  wards  to 
partake  of  the  benefits  should  be  taxed  for  the  support 
of  the  schools.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  popular 
view,  though  the  order  of  the  Court,  just  quoted,  it 
will  be  perceived,  allowed  a  general  taxation  if  the  au- 
thorites  in  the  towns  so  directed.  There  were  few  or 


396  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

no  cases  in  which  pupils  were  excluded,  for  the  pay 
of  the  teachers  was  small  and  doled  almost  entirely  in 
produce.  And  so  tenderly  was  the  growing  system 
fostered  that  a  master  who  excluded  one  because  he 
could  not  pay  the  pittance  would  have  been  frowned 
upon.  It  was  many  years  before  the  people  were 
brought  to  a  full  sense  of  the  propriety  of  taxing  all 
for  the  support  of  schools,  because  all,  directly  or 
indirectly,  received  the  benefit.  So  perfect  a  system 
as  that  of  Massachusetts  at  the  present  day  was 
necessarily  of  slow  growth. 

Religious  instruction  in  the  common  schools  was, 
till  a  comparatively  late  period,  deemed  of  the  first 
importance  ;  and  when  a  teacher  was  engaged  he  was 
thoroughly  examined  on  points  of  doctrine.  In  1654 
the  Court  passed  an  order  forbidding  that  any  who 
had  shown  "  ymselves  unsound  in  the  fayth "  should 
be  employed  to  teach.  We  do  not  think  that  religious 
instruction  in  the  schools  of  our  day  would  do  much 
harm  seeing  that  so  many  children  are  not  likely  to 
get  it  any  where  else.  But  it  might  be  difficult 
among  the  multitude  of  theological  whims,  to  deter- 
mine who  was  or  was  not  "  unsound  in  the  fayth." 

As  before  remarked,  this  important  order  was  in- 
troduced into  the  Court  by  Nicholas  Willis,  a  Boston 
member.  There  is  not  a  great  deal  to  be  found 
recorded  concerning  him,  for  he  was  far  from  being 
ostentatious  or  assuming.  He  was  grave  and  discreet, 
and  very  constant  in  his  place  at  the  end  of  one  of  the 
rude  benches. 

The  good  old  Massachusetts  fathers,  governed  as 
they  were  by  the  spirit,  and  to  a  considerable  extent 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  397 

by  the  letter,  of  the  Levitical  law,  were,  of  course,  not 
inclined  to  err  by  too  great  leniency  in  school  disci- 
pline. They  had  found  in  the  venerable  book  they  so 
much  revered,  the  proverb,  "  He  that  spareth  his 
rod,  hateth  his  son,"  and  seemed  determined  that 
the  striking  evidence  of  their  parental  love  therein 
approved  should  not  be  wanting.  And  the  teacher 
of  youth  who  would  not  conform  to  the  requirement 
was  deemed  unfit  for  his  office.  And  could  all  the 
cries  and  lamentations  of  the  poor  urchins  under  cas- 
tigation  in  a  single  settlement,  during  a  single  week, 
have  been  gathered  into  one  sound  it  would  have 
been  such  a  wail  as  earth  never  before  heard ;  and 
the  vibrations  would  have  rolled  on  with  a  tornado's 
sweep.  Even  in  Harvard  college,  as  will  appear  more 
at  large  hereafter,  the  law  established  the  discipline 
of  the  cudgel.  And  there  were  a  few  manifestations 
of  rebellion  there  on  account  of  it ;  but  they  were 
speedily  suppressed  by  the  very  instruments  that 
occasioned  them  ;  that  is,  the  outward  manifestations 
were  suppressed ;  but  inwardly  they  remained  as 
contumacious  as  ever ;  and  inward  rebellion  is  more 
difficult  to  manage  than  outward,  it  is  so  much  harder 
to  get  at. 

Where  the  punishment  of  the  rod  is  so  freely  dis- 
pensed, it  must,  almost  of  necessity,  sometimes  fall 
unjustly.  Children  perceive  this  quick  enough  ;  and 
they  also  perceive,  quick  enough,  when  the  teacher 
has  a  relish  for  that  part  of  his  duty — when  the  inflic- 
tions are  not  to  be  taken  as  evidences  of  love. 

There  was  a  cross-grained  old  pedagogue  who  for 
many  years  taught  the  school  in  the  north  end  of 


398  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

Boston,  whose  name  was  Croscobal  —  Crosscudgel, 
as  the  roguish  boys  persisted  in  calling  it.  He  loved 
to  flagellate  the  children  about  as  well  as  he  loved  to 
eat  his  breakfast ;  but  he  did  it  on  principle,  of  course. 
He  became  quite  unpopular  with  the  juveniles  ;  but 
the  very  cause  that  made  him  hateful  to  them  made 
him  popular  with  some  of  the  inclement  authorities. 
The  benign  proverb  just  quoted  — "  He  that  spareth 
his  rod  hateth,"  &c.,  was  often  upon  his  lips.  And 
being  extremely  rigid  in  doctrine,  he  took  special 
notice  of  the  fact  that  children  generally  prefer  to 
have  love  toward  them  manifested  in  some  other  way 
than  by  unmerciful  thrashings  ;  which  fact  he  regard- 
ed as  undeniable  evidence  of  innate  depravity.  He 
was  a  moral  philosopher.  And  deeming  the  cries 
issuing  from  those  undergoing  chastisement  but  the 
shrieks  of  the  devils  with  which  they  were  possessed, 
he  laid  on  with  increased  vigor,  hoping  to  rid  the 
youthful  breasts,  or  backs,  of  the  foul  enemies  that 
nestled  there. 

He  was  a  tall,  raw-boned  man,  with  wiry  hair,  and 
with  his  left  temple  conspicuously  ornamented  by  a 
great  red  mother-mark,  bearing  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  a  knotty  cudgel.  But  the  nose  was  his 
most  noticeable  feature,  for  it  was  knocked  up  in 
such  a  remarkable  way  that  its  point  actually  stood 
out  at  a  right  angle  with  the  facial  plain. 

As  this  nasal  elegance  was  not  designed  by  nature, 
it  may  be  well  here  to  explain  how  it  was  formed. 
He  had  at  some  time  during  the  third  year  of  his 
experience  as  a  Boston  teacher,  most  cruelly  flogged 
a  bright  little  fellow  for  attempting  imitations  of  his 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  399 

motions.  Most  people  are  proud  to  have  imitators  ; 
but  he  chose  to  be  offended.  True,  while  the  efforts  at 
imitation  were  in  progress,  the  other  boys  surrounded 
the  performer  laughing  and  shouting  in  high  glee, 
and  in  the  exuberance  of  their  spirits  indulging  in 
various  pleasant  exclamations,  such  as,  "  Hitch  along, 
old  Crosscudgel ! "  "  Go  it,  one  side  at  a  time ! "  "  Now 
let 's  see  you  turn  your  nose  ;  but  take  care  boys  ! " 
"  Give  us  the  cudgel  exercise ! "  But  there  was  no 
time  for  that,  for  down  pounced  the  old  man  himself 
upon  them,  and  led  off  the  chief  offender,  to  meet  his 
doom.  He  was  a  good-natured,  frolicksome  boy,  and 
quite  popular  in  the  school.  So  a  conspiracy  was 
presently  formed  among  them  to  get  a  suck  at  the 
sweets  that  revenge  is  said  to  afford. 

In  the  aisle  of  the  school-room,  between  the  two 
rows  of  benches,  was  an  aukwardly  constructed  trap- 
door, leading  by  a  ladder  to  the  deep,  dark  cellar-hole 
beneath.  This  door,  if  not  carefully  closed,  was  liable 
to  tilt  and  suddenly  send  whoever  stepped  upon  it 
into  the  dirty  abyss  below,  to  the  danger  of  limbs  or 
even  life.  But  the  little  feet  continued  month  after 
month  to  patter  over  it  with  few  accidents.  It  was 
here  that  the  ingenious  little  conspirators  set  their 
trap  ;  literally  making  the  door  a  trap-door.  They 
drew  it  a  little  forward  and  sideling ;  not  enough  to 
attract  attention,  but  enough  to  answer  the  purpose. 

So  the  trap  is  set.  The  tyrant  enters.  And  pres- 
ently every  little  tow-head  is  bent  over  a  book  or 
ciphering  board.  Indeed  a  little  closer  attention  than 
usual  characterizes  the  school  on  this  eventful  morn- 
ing. But  all  of  a  sudden  there  comes  flying  over  the 


4OO  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

bowed  heads,  from  the  very  backmost  seat  a  thour- 
oughly  saturated  spit-ball,  striking  with  a  very  un- 
pleasant smack  directly  on  the  frontal  vacuum  of  the 
teacher.  This  was  an  unheard-of  indignity.  The 
insulted  sovereign  seized  his  weapon,  and  boiling  with 
rage  strode  toward  the  offender.  Three  strides  such 
as  he  took  on  this  occasion,  brought  him  to  the  fatal 
trap,  which,  having  joined  the  conspiracy,  performed 
its  allotted  part  in  perfect  good  faith,  and  —  .... 
Down  went  Master  Croscobal  —  down,  like  Ban- 
quo's  ghost,  only  a  great  deal  more  rapidly  than  most 
players  make  the  descent.  He  struck  his  nose  fairly 
on  the  edge  of  the  abyss,  and  with  such  terrible  force 
as  in  a  manner  to  tear  it  out  by  the  roots  ;  and  was 
otherwise  so  seriously  injured  that  doubts  were  enter- 
tained of  his  surviving.  The  boys  were  very  much 
alarmed  and  immediately  summoned  assistance.  He 
was  raised  groaning  from  the  pit  and  gently  conveyed 
to  his  home  where  the  surgeon  set  his  broken  leg 
and  bound  up  his  bruises.  The  doctor  did  all  he 
possibly  could  to  reinstate  the  mangled  nose.  And  in 
time  that  indispensable  feature  became  restored  to 
its  useful  functions,  but  its  comeliness  was  gone. 
He  was  confined  to  his  house  for  many  weeks,  and 
suffered  grievous  pains.  Whether  he  reflected  on  his 
cruelties  and  repented  of  them,  does  not  appear.  In- 
deed if  he  acted  on  principle,  as  has  been  explained, 
it  is  not  likely  that  he  did  repent,  for  people  do  not 
often,  when  they  review,  repent  of  what  they  have 
done  on  principle  unless  they  first  veer  from  the 
principle  itself.  It  appears  that  to  his  dying  day  he 
never  knew  that  the  misplacing  of  the  trap-door  was 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  4OI 

not  a  pure  accident.  How  the  knowledge  was  kept 
from  him  is  mysterious.  Had  he  been  informed,  it  is 
enough  to  make  one  shudder  to  imagine  the  retribu- 
tion he  would  have  meeted  out.  The  sympathy 
between  the  backs  of  boys  and  their  tongues,  will 
sometimes  induce  the  unruly  member  to  keep  silence 
when  nothing  else  will. 

A  letter  written  by  one  of  the  pupils  of  Master 
Croscobal  to  his  twin  sister,  then  absent  from  home, 
which  gives  a  running  account  of  this  occurrence, 
among  other  matters  of  boyish  interest,  ought  not  to 
be  overlooked.  It  shows  what  a  Boston  boy,  at  that 
early  day,  could  do  at  composition.  He  ought  to 
be  praised  for  his  spelling,  as  it  is  much  more  uniform 
than  that  of  most  of  those  even  who  kept  the  public 
records  ;  but  he  was  evidently  too  intently  engaged  on 
his  subject  to  experiment  with  orthography.  Children 
tell  the  truth  right  out,  hit  where  it  may ;  and  it  is 
a  pity  that  historians  do  not  more  often  light  on  their 
unprejudiced  correspondence.  Few  would  imagine, 
on  perusing  this  letter,  that  its  roguish  author  became 
one  of  the  most  learned  and  austere  of  the  colonial 
clergy : 

"  DEARE  SISTER  Lois : 

"  Mother  keepes  a  saying  that  I  must  rite  a 
letter  to  you,  and  so  I  shal  rite.  First  I  wil  tel  about 
a  beautyfull  axcident  that  happend  in  oure  scoole 
hows.  Yesterday  Sam  found  vnder  oure  henn  coope 
a  neest  with  3  beautyfull  little  chucks.  The  axcident 
happend  to  olde  Crosscudgell  himselfe.  You  know 
the  trapp  doare  thats  rite  in  the  ile  ;  and  thats  where 

26 


4O2  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

it  happend.  Theres  a  beautyfull  bumlebees  neest  rite 
in  the  wall  out  on  the  roade,  by  the  corner.  The 
trapp  dore  got  shoved  a  little  one  syde ;  sometymes 
itt  wood  happen  soe.  My  old  turtles  dead  ;  he  ate 
som  rusty  nales.  Sam  says  he  means  to  keepe  them 
little  chucks  for  you  to  play  with  when  you  com  horn  ; 
wont  it  be  beautyfull.  The  boys  told  old  Crosscudgell 
that  a  snake  run  into  the  wall ;  and  so  he  spudged  in 
with  his  kane,  where  they  told  him  ;  and  he  hitt  rite 
into  the  bumblebees  neest ;  and  the  bumblebees  flew 
oute  and  stung  him  beautyfull.  Some  boddy  throwed 
a  grate  spitt  bawl  and  hitt  old  Crosscudgell  rite  on 
the  forred.  Them  little  chucks  that  Sams  a  going  to 
keepe  for  you  look  beautyfull ;  and  they  dont  smell  a 
bit ;  Mr  Copp  says  they  never  doe  till  they  get  bigger. 
When  the  spitt  bawl  hitt  him  hee  cacht  his  stick  and 
runn  rite  vpp  the  ile  to  whack  Dave  Wonson  ;  but 
Dave  hadent  done  nothing.  I  wish  you  could  a  seen 
him  hopp  round  when  the  bumblebees  stung  him  soe  ; 
it  was  beautyfull.  Iza  Redbacke  mocked  Crosscudg- 
•ell,  and  got  a  licking  for  itt.  His  sister  got  lost  in 
the  woodes,  and  staid  out  most  all  nite  ;  every  boddy 
turned  oute  to  search  for  her ;  they  had  drumms  and 
horns  and  rattles  and  pine  torches  ;  it  was  beautyfull ; 
Sam  and  I  went  too.  When  olde  Crosscudgell  trod 
on  the  trapp  doare  it  sprung  downe  beautyfull ;  jest 
lik  a  foxe  trapp.  Little  Molly  Melchers  got  the  mea- 
zles  ;  mother  lent  em  your  pare  of  red  stockings. 
All  the  menn  are  a  going  oute  on  a  squirrell  hunt 
next  lecter  day ;  they  eate  vp  every  thing ;  with  gunns 
and  pistoles  ;  wont  itt  bee  beautyfull ;  Sam  and  I  will 
goe  with  em.  When  the  trapp  doare  sprung  downe, 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  403 

downe  went  olde  Crosscudgell,  rite  into  the  cellar ; 
itt  sprung  beautyfull ;  No  boddy  fixt  the  trapp  doare 
soe ;  itt  happend.  Sam  and  I  went  a  ffishing  over 
thrue  Mr  Canes  lande  and  cacht  a  grate  string  of 
ffish  ;  itt  was  beautyfull  sporte.  When  olde  Cross- 
cudgell fell  downe  into  the  cellar,  he  hitt  his  nose  an 
awfull  crack  rite  against  the  sharpe  edge.  I  know 
where  theres  a  chesnutt  tree  thats  chock  ful  of  burrs. 
Mr  Cane  come  along  and  took  away  all  oure  ffish  ;  he 
sayd  they  was  his,  cause  wee  stood  on  his  lande  when 
wee  cacht  em  ;  and  I  sposed  they  was.  Sams  a  going 
to  make  mee  a  new  bow  gunn  when  hee  cann  gett  a 
peece  of  boarde ;  theres  a  boarde  loos  on  the  fens 
downe  the  lain ;  maybee  it  will  bio  off  some  tyme. 
If  we  storme  the  bumblebees  neest  He  save  you  som 
of  my  shair  of  the  hunny.  When  ffather  com  hom 
by  Mr  Canes  shopp,  hee  saw  som  nice  ffish  there,  and 
bot  em  ;  they  was  the  same  ffish  Sam  and  I  cacht ; 
soe  wee  had  em  for  supper ;  they  was  beautyfull ; 
Goodman  Turners  got  a  newe  pigg ;  hes  black  and 
yello  ;  his  tale  curls  jest  like  a  screw,  and  when  you 
pull  it  harde  hee  squeels  beautyfull.  Wee  told  ffather 
all  about  the  ffish,  and  jest  how  Mr  Cane  com  by  em  ; 
he  was  som  madd  and  sayd  heed  see  about  itt ;  I  dont 
spose  now  they  was  his  jest  cause  wee  stood  on  his 
lande  when  wee  cacht  em.  When  olde  Crosscudgell 
hitt  his  nose  soe  beautyfull  hee  nockt  it  off  rite  by  the 
rootes  ;  no,  he  didnt  nock  it  quite  off,  but  amost 
The  blood  spirted  oute  beautyfull.  He  went  rite 
downe  onto  the  cellar  rocks,  and  was  almost  killed. 
Wee  thot  hee  was  dead,  and  run  oute  and  called  in 
every  boddy.  They  gott  him  vp  and  hee  groaned 


404  V.      EDUCATIONAL   GLIMMERINGS. 

beautyfull.  Doctor  Harker  says  hee  gesses  hee  can 
patch  vp  the  nose  so  as  it  will  anser  for  som  tyme 
yitt ;  but  hee  says  hee  will  never  be  abl  to  bio  it  as 
hard  as  he  used  to,  soe  that  it  cann  be  heard  a  myle 
off.  And  he  says  that  it  will  allways  stick  vp,  so  that 
peeple  musent  stand  in  front  when  he  blows  ;  but  I 
dont  kno  what  hee  meanes  by  that. 

"  O,  Lois,  theres  lots  of  beautyfull  funn  about  now. 
But  youre  a  girle  and  dont  kno  what  real  funn  is. 
I  love  you  cause  youre  my  twin  sister  and  cause 
youre  so  goode.  Ime  sorry  for  you  but  cant  help 
youre  being  a  girle.  We  was  born  together  ;  but  you 
dont  blame  mee  because  I  was  the  boy  and  you  was 
the  girl,  do  you.  I  couldnt  help  itt.  Itt  happend. 

"  Ive  rit  beautyfull  two  many  tym'es  in  this  letter  to 
sounde  goode.  But  I  cant  think  of  no  other  worde 
that  fitts  in  so  beautyfull. 

"  Your  loveing  brother, 

"  JEDDIE." 

It  would  be  desirable,  if  space  permitted,  to  intro- 
duce the  pleasant  letter  of  little  Lois,  in  reply  to  her 
brother.  But  as  it  is,  we  must  be  contented  with  only 
a  passage  or  two  : 

"  DEARE  BROTHER  JEDDIE  : 

"The  letter  you  rit  to  me  is  bewtifull ;  and 
it  was  real  goode  of  you  to  send  itt.  But  youre  in 
such  a  hurry  to  tel  things  you  mix  em  all  vp  so  as  I 
have  to  reade  ovr  and  ovr  to  kno  what  you  meane  ; 
you  putt  the  bumblebees,  and  the  little  chucks,  and 
Maister  Crosscudgell,  and  the  new  pigg,  and  the  ffish, 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  405 

and  all,  in  one  heape.  .  .  .  Now,  Jeddy,  iff  its  real 
funn  to  see  blood  spirt  out  of  a  poor  olde  mans  nose, 
and  to  heare  him  groane  cause  nauty  boys  have  amost 
killd  him,  and  to  see  him  jump  vpp  cause  the  bum- 
blebees have  stung  him  so,  and  such  like  things,  Ime 
glad  I  dont  know  what  real  funn  is.  ...  You 
better  tel  Samm  hee  needent  keepe  them  little  chucks 
for  mee ;  I  dont  want  em  ;  my  mockinge  birde  and 
rabit  is  enuf.  .  .  .  You  needent  pitty  mee  cause 
I  was  the  girle  and  you  was  the  boy.  Ime  real  gladd 
it  hapened  soe.  You  love  to  bee  a  boy  cause  youre 
used  to  itt.  Butt  you  dont  kno  how  goode  it  is  to  be 
a  girle,  cause  you  never  was  a  girle.  .  .  .  But  I 
love  you,  Jeddie,  I  love  you  ever  soe  much,  cause  you 
love  mee,  and  doe  every  thing  for  mee,  and  get  mee 
every  thing."  .  .  . 

"  Youre  loveing  Sister, 

"  Lois." 

But  by  no  means  were  all  the  teachers  of  the 
Croscobal  order.  Many  possessed  the  highest  quali- 
ties of  poor  human  nature ;  were  devoted  in  their 
efforts  to  implant  in  the  susceptible  hearts  committed 
to  their  charge,  every  virtue  and  grace ;  were  long- 
suffering  and  kind  ;  delighted  in  their  laborious  occu- 
pation because  it  afforded  so  many  opportunities  for 
doing  good  to  the  rising  generation  ;  and  were  far 
above  the  harsh  views  so  generally  entertained  at  the 
period  regarding  youthful  discipline. 

Of  this  genial  class  was  the  worthy  Master  Talbot 
who  for  a  time  kept  in  a  forlorn  little  structure  that 
stood  cowering  under  a  maple  tree  near  the  site  of  the 


406  V.      EDUCATIONAL   GLIMMERINGS. 

literary  rookery  before  referred  to,  that  has  now,  for  a 
great  many  years,  stood  on  Washington  street,  at  the 
corner  of  School.  His  learning  was  quite  sufficient 
for  all  the  requirements  of  the  time.  And  the  bland 
smile  that  constantly  lighted  up  his  countenance, 
indicated  peace  within  and  cheered  the  little  ones 
onward  in  the  path  of  duty.  He  had  a  pleasant  way 
of  imparting  instruction,  especially  to  the  more  ad- 
vanced class,  of  which,  however,  the  number  was 
small,  for  the  youth  were  usually  put  to  some  trade 
or  other  productive  employment  at  about  the  age  of 
twelve.  His  instruction  was  given  rather  in  the  form 
of  lectures  than  book  lessons  ;  indeed  school  books 
were  very  scarce  at  that  time ;  and  such  as  could 
be  had,  were  of  a  dry,  unattractive  kind,  and  much 
of  the  teaching  was  necessarily  without  their  aid. 
But  when  that  matchless  work,  the  New  England 
Primer,  was  placed  in  the  little  abecedarian  hands, 
how  were  the  labors  of  the  teachers  lightened.  It 
became  an  indispensable  adjunct.  How  the  bright 
young  eyes  sparkled  over  the  quaint  but  spirited  illus- 
trations. One  little  boy  jumps  up  and  squeaks  out : 

"  The  cat  doth  play, 
And  after  slay." 

And  then  pauses  in  admiration  of  pussy,  erect  upon 
her  hind  legs,  playing  a  fiddle  and  trotting  merrily 
over  a  snowy  road,  behind  a  sleigh.  Wonderful  con- 
ception of  the  delineator ! 

But  Mr.  Talbot  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  His 
pupils  so  loved  him  that  they  would  run  to  meet  him 
as  he  advanced  along  the  lane,  clad  in  his  short 
waisted  green  bob-tail  coat,  his  brown  velvet  doublet 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  4O/ 

and  leather  small-clothes.  And  if  the  time  admitted 
he  would  often  have  some  merry  game  with  them 
before  entering  the  lowly  temple  of  learning  in  which 
they  together  worshipped.  And  sometimes,  on  a 
pleasant  afternoon,  he  would  take  them  forth  into  the 
fields  and  woods,  to  pick  up  such  scraps  of  knowledge 
as  they  might  find  by  the  wayside  ;  and  occasionally 
also  to  pick  up  brush  and  form  faggots,  each  returning 
with  one  upon  his  shoulder,  as  a  present  to  good 
dame  Talbot  for  the  heating  of  her  oven. 

On  these  excursions,  the  worthy  man  would  moral- 
ize and  philosophize,  as  incident  after  incident  sug- 
gested a  theme,  and  so  interest  their  young  minds 
that  sometimes  they  returned  without  a  berry  in  their 
baskets,  or  a  nut  or  wild  grape.  The  margin  of  the 
brambly  quagmire  which  grew  into  what  is  now  the 
picturesque  pond,  upon  the  Common,  was  the  scene 
of  many  a  lecture  on  the  evil  tendency  of  indulgence 
in  cruel  sports  ;  for  it  was  there  that  extraordinary 
temptations  existed  in  the  multitude  of  innocent 
bullfrogs  and  helpless  tadpoles. 

But  it  cannot  be  said  that  Master  Talbot  was  with- 
out his  conceits.  Indeed  what  teacher  of  youth  ever 
existed  without  them.  One  of  the  most  noticeable 
that  rambled  about  in  his  brains  merits  some  attention. 
It  was  what  he  called  "  the  harmony  of  correspond- 
encies ; "  and  seems  to  have  been  something  like 
this :  that  there  existed  an  affinity  between  abstract 
mental  qualities  and  natural  substances  —  such  as  no 
philosopher  before  him  had  ever  been  able  to  trace. 
This  conception  would  strike  one  as  rather  tending 
toward  the  materialism  of  which  our  fathers  had  such 


4O8  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

horror.  But  perhaps  the  idea  is  not  fully  expressed  ; 
and  a  little  elucidation  by  example  will  be  well. 
Conceiving,  for  instance,  that  there  was  a  harmonious 
correspondence  between  arithmetical  perceptions  and 
sweet  flag  root,  he  required  every  pupil,  before  com- 
mencing on  his  ciphering  lesson,  to  take  a  great  horn 
spoon  full  of  a  strong  decoction  of  that  useful  root. 
Students  in  Latin,  of  whom  he  had  some  half  dozen, 
had  to  be  dosed  with  sage  tea.  Then  there  were  his 
writing  pills,  his  reading  drops,  and  so  on,  through 
his  brief  catalogue  of  studies.  Aside  from  any  effect 
that  this  constant  dosing  had  on  the  studies,  it  was 
useful  in  leading  the  children  into  the  habit  of  taking 
medicine  readily  when  they  were  sick  —  always  a 
thing  of  great  difficulty.  If  the  patients  of  that  time 
were  not  made  well  it  was  not  because  the  doctors  did 
not  require  them  to  take  medicine  enough  ;  and  any 
discipline  that  could  stimulate  the  appetite  for  drugs 
was  to  be  highly  approved.  Alas  for  them,  that  the 
star  of  homeopathy  had  not  then  risen. 

And  then  again,  Mr.  Talbot's  practice  gave  him  a 
good  opportunity  to  experiment  with  divers  medicinal 
concoctions  which  a  neighbor  of  his,  a  quack  doctor, 
was  continually  getting  up ;  and  in  which,  it  was 
surmised,  the  master  himself  had  some  pecuniary 
interest,  for  on  his  excursions  he  frequently  gathered 
large  bundles  of  roots  and  herbs  which  the  boys  were 
directed  to  leave  at  the  doctor's  door. 

I  do  not  know  that  any  means  exist  whereby  the 
conclusions  of  Mr.  Talbot  touching  the  "  harmony 
of  correspondencies,"  could  be  very  clearly  shown  to 
be  without  foundation,  if  any  one  had  the  hardihood 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  409 

to  dispute  his  claims,  even  in  this  day  of  philosophic 
radiance,  which  may  be  called  the  day  of  gas,  as 
his  has  been  called  the  day  of  the  tallow-dip.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say  of  Master  Talbot  that  he  experi- 
mented with  great  diligence,  and  derived  real  satis- 
faction from  his  supposed  discoveries.  Yet  he  was 
very  cautious  in  his  experiments  or  he  must  have 
injured  the  health  of  the  boys  or  poisoned  them  out- 
right. 

But  Mr.  Talbot's  successor,  a  man  of  some  note  as  a 
disciplinarian,  who  came  up  from  Plymouth,  turned 
the  discovery  of  his  predecessor,  such  as  it  was,  to  a 
very  different  account.  Instead  of  using  the  decoc- 
tions and  concoctions  and  simples,  as  aids  to  the 
studies,  he  procured  new  and  more  pungent  ones,  and 
remorselessly  administered  them  by  way  of  correction 
for  misbehavior ;  and  not  having  half  the  discretion 
of  Mr.  Talbot,  and  as  much  again  boldness,  he  came 
near  killing  several,  before  it  was  discovered  what  he 
was  about.  He  made  the  unruly  ones  swallow  enor- 
mous quantities  of  the  most  nauseating  preparations  ; 
was  lavish  in  the  use  of  chuck-cabbage  and  dragon- 
root,  which  grew  in  a  field  that  lay  in  his  route  to 
school ;  and  carried  things  with  a  high  hand  generally. 

But  he  really  took  a  good  deal  of  interest  in  medical 
botany,  and  was  constantly  making  inquiries  of  the 
Indians  concerning  the  use  of  plants  with  which  he 
was  not  familiar,  and  concerning  their  own  prepara- 
tions. And  he  gained  much  valuable  knowledge 
which  he  did  not  always  put  to  good  use.  Arrow 
John  assisted  him  in  many  ways  ;  and  great  reliance 
was  placed  on  his  information,  on  account  of  his 
R 


4IO  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

undoubted  honesty,  though  he  was  well  known  to 
have  a  relish  for  the  marvelous.  Among  other  things 
he  brought  a  sample  of  a  liquid,  which  was  to  be  taken 
in  small  doses,  and  which  he  said,  would  "  make  um 
jump,  jump  high  ;  and  make  um  feel  dam  good." 
This  was  rather  a  questionable  recommendation,  to 
be  sure  ;  though  one  that  perhaps  all  the  more  ex- 
cited curiosity.  So,  upon  a  certain  dull  day,  when  the 
studies  rather  flagged,  he  took  occasion  to  administer 
some  of  this  mysterious  provocative,  not,  however,  as 
a  punishment,  but  by  way  of  scientific  exploration. 
Those  who  took  it  were  volunteers,  indeed,  though 
much  after  the  fashion  of  volunteers  for  the  guillotine, 
during  the  French  Revolution. 

It  happened  on  the  same  day  that  some  members 
of  the  General  Court  called  to  inspect  the  school —  the 
whole  Court  standing  in  the  attitude  of  a  general 
committee.  And  while  they  sat  on  the  bench  of  dig- 
nity, with  benign  countenances  and  hopeful  hearts 
carefully  surveying  the  studious  young  phalanx,  the 
doses  began  suddenly  to  operate.  Up  jumped  a  boy 
on  the  back  seat,  laughing,  shouting,  and  capering,  in 
a  most  indecent  manner,  declaring  that  he  felt  so 
good,  he  could  not  sit  still.  But  his  extatic  career 
was  soon  brought  to  a  close,  by  one  who  rushed  up 
and  dealt  him  such  a  blow  in  the  face  as  started  forth 
the  crimson  rivulets.  Right  upon  that,  another  boy 
bounded  over  the  seats,  regardless  of  intervening 
heads,  and  planting  himself  before  the  astounded 
deputies  began  an  incoherent  oration,  in  which  he 
magnified  the  failings  of  the  master,  abused  the  dig- 
nitaries themselves,  and  rattled  away  about  tops  and 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  41  I 

marbles,  occasionally  pausing  to  whirl  round,  jump 
up,  and  strike  at  imaginary  musquetoes.  And  now,  all 
the  doses  were  beginning  to  operate,  and  the  victims 
were  snapping  off,  all  about  the  room,  like  kernels 
in  a  corn-popper.  Had  Cotton  Mather  been  present, 
witchcraft  would  have  had  to  take  a  dose  that  must 
have  made  it  jump  as  high  as  any  of  them.  As  it 
was,  however,  the  sage  deputies  were  first  astonished, 
then  alarmed,  and  then  panic  stricken.  And  under 
the  last  they  hastily  made  their  way  from  the  en- 
chanted precincts. 

The  children  who  were  subjected  to  this  dangerous 
treatment  do  not  appear  to  have  suffered  any  essential 
injury,  though  prostration  followed.  Rigid  inquiries 
into  the  affair  were  soon  made,  and  the  whole  truth 
about  the  dosings  came  out.  The  venturesome  mas- 
ter was  forthwith  banished,  and  went  down  into 
Rhode  Island,  where  he  acted  as  a  sort  of  missionary 
among  the  Narragansetts. 

The  allegation  that  there  was  actually  a  Court  order 
excluding  from  the  schools  teachers  who  abstained 
from  the  free  use  of  the  rod,  or  even  entertained 
scruples  against  the  propriety  of  its  use,  I  do  not 
find  confirmed.  And  indeed  there  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  any  such,  to  give  occasion  for  that  order. 

As  to  the  studies  in  the  schools,  at  that  period,  it 
is  hardly  worth  while  to  say  much.  Reading,  writing, 
and  arithmetic,  were  the  chief  matters  upon  which 
the  juvenile  minds  were  required  to  exercise.  Spell- 
ing does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  meddled  with  ; 
though  from  the  examples  that  have  come  down  to 
us  it  seems  fair  to  suppose  that  they  sometimes  em- 


412  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

ployed  their  ingenuity  in  endeavoring  to  determine  in 
how  many  different  ways  words  could  be  spelled  ; 
there  being  no  settled  rule  of  right.  A  few  pupils 
grappled  with  the  Latin,  as  that  seemed  a  sort  of 
mysterious  out-post  that  should  be  occupied  against 
the  approaches  of  "y*  ould  deluder  Satan." 

Some  of  the  early  sessions  of  the  General  Court 
were  held  at  New  Town  —  now  Cambridge.  And 
there  appears  to  have  been  no  better  reason  for  this 
than  that  they  were  extremely  anxious  in  their  watch 
over  the  infant  interests  of  the  school,  or  college, 
established  there,  and  which  has  become  the  renown- 
ed Harvard  of  the  present  day.  Its  infantile  cries 
for  nourishment,  in  the  shape  of  grants,  were  often 
heard,  and  always  regarded.  It  was  a  perfect  pet, 
and  sometimes  seemed  in  danger  of  being  spoiled  by 
kindness.  But  had  some  of  those  who  so  generously 
ministered  to  its  early  necessities,  foreseen  its  theo- 
logical waywardness,  in  after  years,  it  is  hard  to  tell 
whether  it  would  have  been  caressed  or  spanked. 

In  the  journal  of  Mr.  Pinion,  under  date  8  Septem- 
ber, 1635,  appears  a  graphic  account  of  the  doings 
of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Court,  at  one  of  the 
regular  sessions,  to  view  a  tract  of  land  that  had 
been  petitioned  for  by  the  friends  of  the  college.  It 
does  not  exactly  appear  what  the  land  was  to  be  used 
for ;  nor  is  it  possible  to  determine  just  where  it  was 
situated,  though  it  seems  probable  that  it  embraced 
the  site  of  the  present  college  buildings.  They  need- 
ed woodland  and  land  to  clear  for  the  purposes  of 
husbandry  ;  and  the  tract  was  very  considerable. 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  413 

Mr.  Pinion  indeed  says  something  about  the  intention 
of  the  college  officials  to  "  raise  cain  ; "  sugar-cane, 
I  think  he  means,  from  what  he  afterward  says  ;  a 
product  which  the  settlers  seem  unaccountably  to 
have  imagined  could  be  raised  in  New  England.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  however,  it  is  certainly  true  that  if  the 
territory  did  embrace  the  present  college  precincts, 
"  Cain  "  has  been  raised  there  a  great  many  times  in 
these  later  years. 

The  committee,  while  professedly  on  duty,  seem  to 
have  devoted  a  part  of  the  time  to  recreation  ;  a  fact 
most  worthy  of  mention,  such  a  thing  being  so  rare 
in  the  whole  history  of  legislative  committees.  In- 
deed they  appear  to  have  turned  the  occasion  into  a 
sort  of  jolly  pic-nic,  and  to  have  been  accompanied 
by  sundry  of  the  outside  settlers,  with  their  sisters, 
sweethearts,  or  wives,  as  the  case  might  be.  Mr. 
Pinion  himself  seems  to  have  accompanied  the  com- 
mittee rather  as  a  volunteer.  Possessing  a  genial 
mind  and  large  fund  of  information,  his  company 
must  have  been  much  desired  on  such  an  occasion. 
He  says,  "  ye  comittee  wd  haue  mee  to  goe  wth  ym." 
His  account  affords  an  interesting  picture  of  a  wood- 
land party  in  those  days,  and  we  venture  to  introduce 
as  large  a  portion  of  it  as  our  limits  will  admit,  in 
this  connection : 

"  On  ye  last  4th  day,  there  being  noe  Cote,  ye  com- 
ittee went  fourth  for  to  vewe  ye  land  named  in  ye 
peticon,  and  wd  faine  lighten  their  dewtys  by  takeing 
a  company  wth  ym.  Arryving  betimes  vpon  ye  ground,. 
we  made  our  campe  amoung  dyvers  great  pynes,  and 


414  v-       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

after  a  short  space  for  reste  went  to  our  task,  ye  com- 
pany disporting  ymselues  as  they  wd,  till  our  returne. 
On  evry  hand  we  saw  great  store  of  berrys,  som 
black,  som  blew,  and  som  red,  most  of  ym  as  we  were 
apprised  being  apt  for  puddings  and  cackes.  And 
while  we  were  gon,  an  aboundance  were  pickt  by  ye 
maides,  som  haueing  brot  callabashes  and  Indjan 
baskets.  God  be  praisd  for  ye  liberall  hande  wth  wch 
he  hath  provided  for  ye  comforte  of  his  peeple  in  this 
far  off  wildernesse  land. 

"  Wee  proceeded  in  our  vewe,  till  at  midday  one 
blew  a  home,  and  we  all  gathered  together  in  ye  cool 
shade,  and  betook  ourselues  to  our  repast,  wth  appe- 
tites well  whetted  by  our  roamings.  But  one  whole 
basket  of  our  most  savoury  provision  was  lost  by  a 
strange  happening,  wch  was  in  this  wise :  While  all 
were  away  from  ye  campe,  save  one  brave  little  maid 
who  wd  stand  awatch,  but  who  had  gon  out  a  short 
space  for  som  water,  there  came  from  ye  thickett  a 
ravening  ffox,  who,  smelling  of  ye  baskets,  made  chois 
of  one,  into  wch  he  thrust  his  head  for  to  pull  fourth  a 
fowle.  But  ye  handle  and  strapp  cacht  soe  about  his 
neck,  y'  he  cd  not  wthdrawe  it  againe,  and  ye  basket 
being  too  heavy  for  him  to  dragg,  he  seemd  a  faste 
prisson1".  But  from  fryght,  or  cunning,  he  then  set 
vp  a  most  distressful  howle,  and  presently  dyvers 
others  came  brisquely  at  his  call.  Seeing  how  matrs 
stood,  and  being  disposd  to  save  their  freind  as  well 
as  have  a  dainty  morsell  themselues,  they  joynd  to- 
gether, and  putting  fourth  all  their  strength,  dragged 
off  their  compan0"  and  the  basket  together.  All  this 
ye  maide  saw  as  shee  returnd  from  ye  spring,  but  was 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  415 

too  mch  affrighted  to  make  outcrie ;  and  ye  theiveing 
ffoxes  made  off  wth  great  speede. 

"  Whn  ye  repast  was  ended,  som  of  ye  elder  folk  w1 
take  a  quiet  napp  ;  and  to  that  end  seated  ymselues 
against  ye  trunks  of  ye  trees,  I  loudly  warneing  ym  to 
avoyd  ye  pines,  lest  ye  pitch  should  besmear  their 
garments.  While  they  were  sleeping  som  of  ye  mis- 
cheivous  damsels  did  slyly  paint  their  faces  wth  berry 
juce,  in  droll  marks  and  figures,  so  yl  whn  they  awok 
they  did  mch  laugh  at  each  other,  all  supposing  that 
every  one  but  himselfe  had  in  sport  so  painted  their 
faces,  and  wondering  y*  people  so  grave,  should  giue 
ouer  to  such  prophane  and  childish  sport.  But  ye 
truth  soone  came  out.  Ye  chairman  seemd  a  little 
angry,  but  ye  others  presently  laughed  away  his 
wrath,  and  he  was  as  merry  as  any.  Dame  Willcox, 
not  haueing  heeded  my  caution,  came  fourth  wth  her 
head  as  bawld  as  a  pumpkin,  mch  to  ye  wonderment 
of  divers  present,  who  had  never  bin  certified  y1  she 
wore  a  wigg.  But  I,  surmising  how  ye  matter  stood, 
went  to  ye  tree  and  dislodging  ye  wigg,  restored  it, 
mch  besmeared  wth  pitch  —  she  not  haueing  missed 
it,  and  wondering  all  ye  time  what  causd  ye  merryment 
when  she  cam  in  from  her  napp. 

"  Ye  elder  ones  and  comittee  men  wd  now  hold 
grave  discourse  touching  our  prospects  as  a  peeple. 
We  are  here  in  a  goodlie  lande,  wth  a  purifyed  faith 
and  wth  godly  ones  amoungst  vs  to  rightly  administer 
ye  holie  ordinances  and  diligently  catechize  and  ad- 
monish. But  we  must  be  watchfull  of  our  priviledges 
or  ravening  wolves  will  entr  and  make  spoyl  of  our 
peace.  Wee  doe  indeed  even  already  heare  some 


4l6  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

scratching  at  our  doors.  God  preserve  vs.  Those 
of  pestigeous  teaching  and  ungodly  living  must  haue 
ye  doore  shut  against  ym,  yea  and  lockt  too. 

"  All  ye  plantacons  are  makeing  what  haste  they 
cann  to  erect  habitacons  and  plant  feilds.  Ye  bigg 
sawes  are  now  bravely  at  work,  and  boards  begin  to 
com  fast  to  our  joyners  their  hands.  Bricks  for 
chimneys  and  ovens  can  be  made  from  ye  aboundance 
of  clay,  and  lime  for  mortar  can  be  made  from  ye  shels 
piled  on  ye  beaches.  Ye  kine  can  find  ample  pasture 
in  ye  clearings,  and  mch  of  ye  winter  provender  can  be 
taken  from  ye  marish  lands  by  ye  sea.  Swine  can 
find  aboundance  of  rootes  and  acorns  in  ye  woodes  to 
gro  fatt  vpon  in  sumer,  and  for  winter  a  store  of  mast 
and  Indjan  corn  can  be  gatherd. 

"  Whl  we  most  need  are  skilld  craftsmen  and  labour- 
ers. Ye  Indjans  will  do  nothing  soe  long  as  they 
can  make  more  by  stealing  than  by  worke.  But 
there  will  presentlie  come  over  those  we  want,  and 
we  shal  prospr.  We  shal  soon  haue  faire  towns  on 
every  side.  We  must  make  haste  to  plant  trees,  for 
they  will  grow  while  we  are  about  other  businesses, 
and  bear  their  fruits  for  our  children.  If  we  be  poor, 
we  can  leave  rich  orchards  for  them  to  enjoy.  And 
Mr  Hollyhock  hath  well  sayd  yl  he  yl  planteth  and 
nurtureth  a  choice  fruit  tree,  raiseth  to  himselfe  a 
monument  more  honorable  than  one  of  marble.  Ye 
apple  and  peare  we  now  finde  thrive  well  hereabout ; 
and  by  a  little  labour  and  watching  we  may  soone 
haue  all  ye  pleasant  fruits  of  Olde  England  at  our 
doors. 

"  We  find  but  few  large  wild  fruits  in  ye  woods 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  4!  7 

about  vs,  but  aboundance  of  grapes  and  other  small 
fruits.  Ye  garments  we  brought  wth  vs  being  mostly 
worne  out,  we  haue  bin  som  exercisd  for  ye  meanes 
whereby  to  replace  ym.  And  in  ye  Genrall  Cort  mch 
discussion  hath  bin  had  on  ye  question.  It  is  patent 
y*  flax  may  well  supply  our  needs  for  ye  lighter 
fabricks,  and  in  tyme  wool  will  com  plentyfully  in,  for 
many  sheepe  are  already  in  ye  plantacons.  Spinning 
wheels  begin  to  be  heard  in  our  habitacons,  and 
dames  and  maides  must  be  exercised  at  ye  same. 
Prosperity  cometh  of  industry  and  frugalitie  ;  and 
there  being  few  slothful  or  extravagant  amoungst  vs, 
we  must  prospr.  We  haue  leather  for  our  shews  and 
many  soft  skins  for  our  outer  garments  and  for  strong, 
warm  breeches.  Mch  discourse  did  ye  members  haue 
on  these  matters,  saying  yl  all  should  ponder  there- 
vpon,  to  ye  end  yl  in  Corte  they  might  act  wisely. 

"  Likewise  mch  discourse  was  had  about  ye  schoole 
at  New  Towne,  whose  needes  ye  Corte  hath  mch  con- 
sider'1, and  for  whose  benefit  ye  goodlie  lands  we  were 
there  that  day  vewing,  are  askt.  We  praise  God  for 
that  hee  hath  giuen  vs  a  sens  of  ye  blessedness  of 
learning,  for  wthout  yl  and  godliness,  we  but  plant 
and  water  in  vaine.  Learning  is  ye  surest  weapon 
wherewith  to  doe  battel  against  Sathan.  It  is  as 
deadlie  poyson  to  ye  ould  deludour  as  is  ye  ash  branch 
to  ye  serpent  yl  crawleth.  And  learning,  too,  is  ye 
cheif  help  to  make  a  people  great  in  a  worldly  way. 
And  God  graunt  yl  ye  schoole  may  one  day  become  a 
great  colledge,  sending  fourth  godlie  teachers  and 
grave  men  as  ensamples.  May  ye  blessed  Trinity, 
evr  be  enthroned  there,  puryfying  hearts  and  sheding 
R*  27 


41 8  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

abroad  aboundance  of  grace.  While  such  grave  dis- 
course was  going  on  amoungst  ye  elders,  ye  young 
folk  were  ingaged  in  divers  pertinent  sports  and  plea- 
santries. 

"  Presentlie  there  appeard  comeing  ouer  ye  hills, 
ye  Indjan  cheife  Arrow  lohn  and  his  dafter  Sunny 
Wave,  on  their  way  to  Mr  Eliott  his  hows.  We  were 
faine  to  perswade  ym  to  tarry  and  join  our  companie. 
And  they  did,  being  hungry  and  weary.  Seating 
ymselves  vpon  a  rock,  they  heartily  partook  of  ye  frag- 
ments yl  remained  from  our  feast,  ye  cheife  saying  he 
mch  loued  ye  white  man  his  bread  and  othr  meats  ; 
and  looking  vp  to  one  of  ye  dames,  sayd  in  comical 
pleasantrie  yl  he  wd  mch  like  to  haue  a  white  squaw 
to  keepe  his  lodge  and  prepare  for  him  such  savoury 
food.  Sunny  Wave,  heareing  this,  sprang  up,  in  a 
tumult  of  greif,  her  tears  bursting  fourth.  And  then 
throwing  her  armes  loveingly  about  his  neck,  quoth 
sobingly,  '  No,  no,  my  fadher,  I  do  all ;  I  learn  all 
white  squaw  doe.  When  white  squaw  come  she  say, 
You  do  this  ;  you  do  that ;  you  go  here ;  you  go 
there ;  you  send  Sunny  Wave  off.  O,  my  fadher, 
then  I  die.'  And  she  weep1  on  his  bosom.  And 
he,  being  mch  ovrcom  at  hir  distress,  leap1  vp,  and 
hugged  her  close,  saying,  '  No,  no,  dam  white  squaw  ; 
if  white  squaw  come  I  say,  you  go  off;  Sunny  Wave 
do  all ;  go  off ;  I  stamp  foot  and  take  bow  to  shoot, 
if  not  go  off.  I  swear,  too,  swear  much.  Com,  com, 
little  squaw,  no  ky,  no  ky ;  dam  white  squaw.' 

"  We  did  all  behold  wth  amazement  such  tendernes, 
amoung  salvages,  and  wd  haue  praised  it,  save  for 
ye  prophanitie.  Presentlie  all  was  again  faire,  and 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  419 

Arrow  John  entertained  ye  elders  wth  mch  good  dis- 
course ab*  ye  Indjans  and  ye  countrey.  But  he  must 
needs  intwine  soe  many  foolish  stories  about  what 
hapened  in  ye  time  of  his  grandfathr,  and  soe  mch  about 
wonderfull  beasts  and  dreadfull  happenings  yl  som 
tho1  little  of  ye  manie  good  and  true  things  he  did 
vtter.  He  verily  is  one  of  good  partes,  haueing 
manie  generous  and  esteemable  moveings,  wth  m^ 
quickness.  But  devill-sown  tares  have  sprung  vp 
in  his  untutoured  heart,  w011  nothing  but  diligent 
Christian  tillage  can  roote  out.  And  we  haue  great 
satisfacon  in  knoweing  y1  Mr  Eliott,  ye  mch  loued 
minister  of  Roxberry  church  thinketh  well  of  him 
and  hath  declared  yl  he  will  doe  his  utmost  to  bring 
both  him  and  his  loueable  dafter  to  ye  fountain  of 
grace  and  truth. 

"  Sunny  Wave  joynd  in  ye  sports  of  ye  young  folk 
wth  mch  relish,  and  astonishd  vs  all  wth  her  agile 
pranks.  They  wd  haue  hir  show  ym  som  of  ye  sports 
wherewth  Indjan  maides  exercise  ymselues  ;  and  she 
quicklie  did  as  they  desird,  every  movement  being 
wth  surprising  gracefulnes.  She  was  bedeck1  in  a 
rich  Indjan  dress  trimd  w*  choice  furr  and  wrought 
about  wth  gay  feathers.  White  eagle  plumes  waved 
vpon  hir  head,  and  strings  of  ye  rarest  wampum  were 
about  her  neck.  And  then  hir  radient  look  and 
merry  voyce  and  gracefull  rompings  keept  ye  eyes 
of  all  vpon  hir. 

"  Yc  damsels  did  make  mch  of  Sunny  Wave,  and 
wd  bedeck  hir  in  theire  owne  apparrall,  their  petty- 
coates,  gownes  and  capps.  She  was  mch  diverted  at 
their  conceit  and  straitway  put  on  the  garments  they 


42O  V.      EDUCATIONAL   GLIMMERINGS. 

gave  hir,  and  in  returne  wd  haue  one  of  them  put  on 
hir  pretty  drapery  ;  wch  being  don,  she  sayd  now  she 
saw  yl  pale  face  girles  cd  not  make  such  maides  as 
ye  young  red  warriors  wd  love. 

"  All  being  gattird  togethr  we  made  readie  to  sing 
som  psalms.  And  presently  ye  godlie  melody  began 
to  ring  inspiringly  in  ye  woodes.  But  uery  soone, 
mch  to  our  astonishment  and  chagrin,  a  whole  army 
of  unmannerly  crows  appeard  in  ye  braunches  about, 
and  set  vp  sch  a  horrible  haw-hawing  yl  we  were  forcd 
to  stop  ye  exrcise.  It  seemd  as  if  a  thousand  of  ye  im- 
pudent birdes  had  set  to  deriding  vs,  and  mocking 
our  holie  song  ;  and  their  outcrys  were  beginning  to 
draw  hundreds  of  othrs  as  saucy  as  ymselves.  Yet  it 
was  soe  comical  a  turne  yl  few  of  vs  could  restraine 
laughter. 

"Sunny  Wave  did  laugh  —  albeit  som  will  haue 
it  yl  Indjans  nevr  laugh  —  til  ye  teares  rolld  adown 
her  glossy  brown  face.  And  presentlie  she  sayd 
yl  ye  crows  nevr  did  soe  vpon  an  Indjan  song.  Then 
one  besaught  hir  to  try  ;  and  wth  great  readines  she 
began  in  a  strange,  low  harmony,  hir  bird  like  voyce 
rising  clear  and  plaintive  as  a  well-playd  lute,  till  it 
broke  fourth  into  strains  so  wild  and  rich  y*  we  could 
but  hold  our  very  breath  in  wondr  and  admiracon. 
And  to  our  amazem1  not  one  twitter  did  ye  crowes 
vtter  til  she  was  don.  They  wd  stretch  downe  their 
heads  and  twist  their  necks,  allmost  losing  their  poise 
to  catch  sight  of  ye  sweet  singr. 

"Aftr  ending  hir  delightsome  song,  she  bade  vs, 
again  try  one  of  our  godlie  psalms.  Yc  chairman  gave 
ye  pitch,  and  we  again  started  fourth  wth  mch  hearti- 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  421 

nes.  But  our  exrcise,  tho  I  think  there  was  more 
godliness  in  it,  I  am  fain  to  alow  fell  far  short  of  hirs 
in  melody.  But  we  did  our  best,  when  beholde,  ye 
il-behaved  crowes  again  began  to  hopp  about  and 
haw-haw  more  saucily  yn  befour.  .  Then  did  all  againe 
breake  fourth  in  laughter,  Sunny  Wave  looking  vp 
and  talking  loudlie  to  ym  in  hir  owne  tongue  as  if  she 
wd  giue  ym  a  livelie  scolding  for  yr  impudence.  Then 
did  we  press  hir  to  sing  anothr  Indjan  song,  w*  she 
did,  ye  crowes  keeping  stil  silence  as  befour.  And 
then  did  we  once  more  essay  a  psalm  ;  but  tho  we 
chang*1  ye  key  and  time  it  was  all  ye  same ;  they 
w*  neithr  hear  vs  nor  let  vs  hear  orselues.  Ye  pious 
wrath  of  ye  chairmn  was  now  kindled,  and  he  declared 
y*  as  our  songs  were  holie,  ye  devill  must  be  workeing 
in  ye  birdes  to  stopp  God  his  worshipp  in  ye  vse  of  ye 
psalms  ;  they  being  readie  enow  to  list"  to  heathen 
salvage  songs,  becaus  they  and  ye  salvages  be  alike 
children  of  ye  devill.  So  we  were  faine  to  giue  over 
y*  attempt  at  musick,  and  betake  orselues  againe  to 
talk  and  pleasantrie.  [It  does  not  appear  to  have 
occurred  to  any  of  them  during  this  remarkable  scene 
that  the  crows  may  have  had  some  appreciation  of  the 
loftiness  of  the  Christian  exercise,  and  were  moved  to 
do  what  they  could  with  their  unmanageable  voices 
to  aid  in  the  sacred  harmony.  Perhaps  they  were 
caws  of  approbation  rather  than  derision.  Men  are 
not  unmistakable  interpreters  of  the  language  of  ani- 
mals. We  all  know  what  tremendous  howls,  as  we  call 
them,  dogs  will  often  set  up  on  hearing  a  heavy  musical 
instrument  briskly  played,  or  on  hearing  a  bell  vigor- 
ously rung.  But  who  can  say  whether  they  are  thus 


422  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

giving  expression  to  pleasure  or  pain  ;  whether  their 
outrages  upon  harmony  are  offerings  of  applause, 
attempts  at  accompaniment,  or  groans  of  distress.] 

"  Sunny  Wave  took  mch  paines  to  teach  ye  maides 
how  to  make  green  wreathes  and  chaines,  and  how  to 
weave  rushes  into  capps,  and  make  basketts  of  bark ; 
likewise  othr  pleasant  little  artes. 

"  Night  drew  on  apace,  and  we  prepard  to  returne 
to  our  homes.  Mr  Callings,  ye  membr  from  ye  vpper 
Boston  precinct,  being  in  haste,  hauing  ye  old  bull  to 
look  after,  did  set  off  somewhat  befour  ye  othrs,  say- 
ing he  well  knew  ye  way,  and  had  no  feare.  And  we 
arrivd,  a  little  wthin  ye  night,  mch  wearied.  But  there 
was  no  reste  for  vs,  as  we  were  presentlie  certifyd  that 
Mr  Callings  had  not  bin  scene.  We  were  sorely 
perplexd,  not  knowing  whithr  to  goe  in  search  of  him. 
His  absence  being  noysed  abroad,  there  soone  assem- 
bled a  multitude,  som  wth  lanthorns  and  som  wth  guns ; 
likewise  one  came  wth  a  drum  and  anothr  wth  a  lustie 
trumpet,  that  alarum  might  speedily  be  giuen.  With- 
out loss  of  tyme  we  began  to  scower  ye  woodes.  But 
ye  night  being  dark  we  were  mch  put  to  it  to  finde 
our  way  amoung  ye  trees  and  tangled  underbrush, 
bumping  and  stagering  about,  now  brused  by  stumps, 
and  then  scratchd  by  thorns  ;  somtymcs  falling  ouer 
sharpe  rocks,  and  somtymes  sinking  in  boggs.  Yet, 
not  knowing  but  our  neighbour  might  fall  a  pray  to 
som  evil  beaste,  we  wd  not  giue  ouer  our  quest.  Som 
wth  torches  climd  ye  hills,  others  made  search  in  ye 
valleys  and  swamps. 

"At  last,  when  nigh  midnight,  one  heard  neare 
him  a  lustie  growl  as  if  of  som  salvage  beaste.  Run- 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  423 

ning  back  a  space  and  being  joind  by  another  wth  a 
gunn,  they  went  boldly  toward  ye  place  whence  ye 
sound  cam.  By  ye  light  of  ye  torches  they  presentlie 
descried  a  huge  and  saluage  wolfe  lying  wth  his  head 
vppon  his  paws,  glaring  at  ym  thro  ye  underbrush, 
and  seemingly  keeping  guard  ouer  something.  Ye 
musquetier  at  once  bro1  his  piece  to  bear,  as  best  he 
cd,  and  then  dischargd  ye  same ;  but  whethr  ye  beast 
was  hurt  or  no,  none  cd  tel ;  for  he  did  not  stopp  to 
face  a  second  discharg,  but  wth  a  fearfull  growl  dashed 
off  into  ye  thickett,  nothing  mor  being  heard  of  him, 
save  a  growl  in  ye  distanc.  And  then  they  heard  a 
faint  cry  as  if  comeing  vpp  from  a  pitt  in  ye  earth. 
And  summoning  anothr,  whose  torch  was  scene  at 
ye  foot  of  a  hil  ouer  against  where  they  stood,  they  did 
begin  a  farder  search ;  when  lo,  after  a  little,  they 
found  a  yawning  wolfe  pitt,  w*  had  bin  digg"1  by 
Mr  Callings  himself,  for  to  entrapp  a  mischievous  old 
wolfe  w**  had  at  sundry  times  despoyld  him  and  his 
neighbours  of  divers  goates  and  othr  small  cattle. 

"  At  ye  botm  of  ye  pitt,  seemingly  more  dead  yn  alive, 
lay  ye  lost  man,  he  haueing  fall"  into  his  owne  trapp. 
Speedily  getting  downe  to  him,  they  found  him  verie 
mch  affrighted  tho  not  mch  hurt.  And  when  he  was 
somewhat  restord  he  sayd  yl  as  he  came  athwart 
ye  woodes,  at  a  brisque  pace,  it  being  som  dark,  and 
thinking  of  noe  dangr,  he  suddenlie  fell  headlong  into 
his  owne  pitt,  ye  bottom  of  wch  he  had  but  reached 
when  he  heard  a  fierce  growl,  and  immediately  there- 
vppon  som  evil  beaste  or  devil  sprang  vppon  his 
shoulders  and  from  his  shoulders  to  ye  brink,  and  soe 
oute  ;  thus  cunninglie  escapeing  from  ye  trapp.  Pres- 


424  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

entlie  ye  beaste  wch  had  so  made  a  stepping  stone 
of  his  shoulders,  and  w**  he  now  was  perswaded  must 
be  ye  same  olde  wolfe  for  wch  he  had  made  ye  pitt, 
wth  great  saucines  returnd,  and  seemingly  set  himselfe 
as  guard  ovr  ye  prisoner  wth  whom  he  had  soe  managd 
to  change  places.  Ye  beaste  walked  about  ye  brink 
of  ye  pitt,  and  somtimes  paused  to  glare  downe  vppon 
him,  as  if  taunting  him  wth  his  mishap,  and  saying, 
Now  my  maister,  you  thot  to  catch  me,  but  who  is 
each1  now?  Som  grievous  scratches  were  likewise 
dealt  by  ye  watchfull  beaste,  who  wd  thrust  downe  a 
claw  whenever  ye  unfortunat  prison1"  putt  himselfe 
wthin  reach.  And  soe  mch  danger  was  there,  y*  he 
wd  fain  lie  down  at  ye  botom  of  ye  pitt,  to  waite  for 
what  ye  morning  shd  bring  fourth,  pondring,  ye  while 
on  ye  blessed  scripture  lesn  of  Joseph  in  ye  pitt  in 
ye  wildernes,  and  drawing  pious  comforte  therefrom." 

The  committee  made  a  report  which  afforded  the 
utmost  satisfaction  to  the  petitioners.  There  was 
not  a  whiff  of  east  wind  in  it.  Its  kindly  recommen- 
dations were  graciously  confirmed  by  the  docile  Court. 
And  the  complacent  college,  at  the  present  day,  would 
not  damage  its  reputation  for  gratitude  by  an  occa- 
sional acknowledgment,  in  its  annual  celebrations, 
of  its  indebtedness  to  that  crow-abused  committee. 

The  establishment  of  the  school,  or  college,  at  New 
Town,  shows  how  highly  the  good  people  esteemed 
learning,  and  how  early  they  looked  to  such  means 
to  dignify  and  invigorate  the  policy  they  aimed  to 
inaugurate.  And  not  being  destitute  of  a  loving 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  425 

memory,  nor  unmindful  of  titular  value,  they  present- 
ly changed  the  name  of  the  place  from  New  Town  to 
Cambridge,  looking  trustfully  forward  to  the  time 
when  it  would  rival  its  honored  archetype,  the  emi- 
nent seat  of  learning  in  Old  England  ;  a  time  which 
very  soon  arrived  —  that  is,  in  the  ardent  imaginings 
of  its  affectionate  issue  and  sanguine  friends. 

Great  pains  were  taken  to  have  the  management 
of  the  institution  in  learned  and  pious  hands.  But 
that  the  Court,  or  those  to  whom  was  delegated  the 
power  of  appointment  were  not  always  fortunate  in 
the  selection  of  incumbents  is  abundantly  proved. 
There  was  Nathaniel  Eaton,  who  was  superintendent 
while  it  was  yet  simply  called  "  The  Schoole,"  and 
who  was  in  office  at  the  time  of  Harvard's  memorable 
bequest,  in  1638,  who  bore  himself  so  unhandsomely 
that  they  were  forced  to  pass  the  following  order : 

"  Mr  Nathaniell  Eaton,  being  accused  for  cruell  & 
barbaros  beating  of  Mr  Naza :  Briscoe,  &  for  other 
neglecting  &  misvseing  of  his  schollers,  it  was  ordered, 
that  Mr  Eaton  should  bee  discharged  from  keeping 
of  schoale  wth  vs  wthout  licence  ;  &  Mr  Eaton  is  fined 
to  the  countrey  66/-  13*-  4^,  wch  fine  is  respited  till 
the  next  Court,  vnles  hee  remove  the  meane  while. 
The  Court  agreed  Mr  Eaton  should  give  Mr  Naza  : 
Briscoe  3O7-  for  satisfaction  for  the  wrong  done  him, 
&  to  bee  paid  presently."  [Court  Records,  Sept  9, 
1639. 

Briscoe  was  an  usher  at  the  new  seat  of  learning, 
and  appears  to  have  been  very  respectably  connected. 


426  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

From  some  cause  Eaton  conceived  a  strong  preju- 
dice toward  him,  and  when  he  had  been  there  but 
two  or  three  days  violently  assaulted  him  and  turned 
him  out  of  doors,  for  some  trivial  offence.  It  was 
Sunday  night,  and  Briscoe  got  in  again,  when  the 
quarrel  was  renewed.  Finally,  Eaton  directed  one 
of  his  men  to  bring  him  a  cudgel ;  and  he  brought  a 
walnut  one,  "  big  enough  to  have  killed  a  horse." 
With  this,  having  two  of  his  men  to  hold  the  poor 
usher,  he  bestowed  on  him  two  hundred  merciless 
blows  ;  continuing,  with  a  few  short  intermissions,  to 
beat  him  for  some  two  hours,  when  his  cries  brought 
in  the  neighbors.  Briscoe,  supposing  he  was  to  be 
killed  outright,  fell  to  praying ;  whereupon  Eaton 
beat  him  the  more  furiously,  under  pretence  of  pun- 
ishing him  for  thus  taking  the  name  of  God  in  vain. 

The  outrage  created  a  good  deal  of  excitement,  as 
well  it  might,  and  the  General  Court,  as  we  have 
seen,  took  the  matter  in  hand.  Eaton  was  cited,  and 
appeared  in  Court ;  but  his  answers  to  the  charges 
"  were  full  of  pryde  and  disdaine." 

It  appeared  during  the  examination  that  Eaton  had 
unmercifully  flagellated  other  pupils  ;  and  not  only 
that,  but  there  were  grave  charges  against  him  for 
scantily  providing  them  with  food,  and  forcing  them  to 
partake  of  that  which  was  unpalatable  and  unwhole- 
some, or  go  hungry.  His  wife  was  examined  on 
these  points  of  accusation,  which  seemed  especially 
within  her  sphere  of  knowledge.  And  from  her 
confession  a  precious  glimpse  of  life  at  infantile  Har- 
vard may  be  had.  We  present  all  that  is  necessary, 
in  the  form  of  a  note,  the  orthography  being  modern- 


SCHOOL  OPENS. 


ized,  according  to  Savage's  Winthrop.  It  may  be 
premised,  however,  that  Winthrop  says  of  the  stu- 
dents, "  their  diet  was  ordinarily  nothing  but  porridge 
and  pudding,  and  that  very  homely."* 


*  The  contrite  matron,  with  heroic  simplicity  goes  on  to  say  : 
"  For  their  breakfast,  that  it  was  not  so  well  ordered,  the  flour  not 
so  fine  as  it  might,  nor  so  well  boiled  or  stirred,  at  all  times  :  that  it 
was  so,  it  was  my  sin  of  neglect  and  want  of  that  care  that  ought  to 
have  been  in  one  that  the  Lord  had  intrusted  with  such  a  work. 
Concerning  their  beef  that  was  allowed  them,  as  they  affirm,  which,  I 
confess,  had  been  my  duty  to  have  seen  they  should  have  had  it,  and 
continued  to  have  had  it,  because  it  was  my  husband's  command ;  but 
truly  I  must  confess,  to  my  shame,  I  cannot  remember  that  ever  they 
had  it,  nor  that  ever  it  was  taken  from  them.  And  that  they  had  not 
so  good  or  so  much  provision  in  my  husband's  absence  as  presence, 
I  conceive  it  was  because  he  would  call  sometimes  for  butter  or  cheese 
when  I  conceived  there  was  no  need  of  it ;  yet,  forasmuch  as  the 
scholars  did  otherways  apprehend,  I  desire  to  see  the  evil  that  was  in 
the  carriage  of  that  as  well  as  in  the  other,  and  to  take  shame  to  myself 
for  it.  And  that  they  sent  down  for  more,  when  they  had  not  enough, 
and  the  maid  should  answer,  if  they  had  not,  they  should  not,  I  must 
confess  that  I  have  denied  them  cheese  when  they  have  sent  for  it  and 
it  have  been  in  the  house  ;  for  which  I  shall  humbly  beg  pardon  of  them 
and  own  the  shame,  and  confess  my  sin.  And  for  such  provoking 
words,  which  my  servants  have  given,  I  cannot  own  them,  but  am 
sorry  any  such  should  be  given  in  my  house.  And  for  bad  fish,  that 
they  had  it  brought  to  table,  I  am  sorry  there  was  that  cause  of  offence 
given  them.  I  acknowledge  my  sin  in  it.  And  for  their  mackerel, 
brought  to  them  with  their  guts  in  them,  and  goat's  dung  in  their 
hasty  pudding,  it  is  utterly  unknown  to  me  ;  but  I  am  much  ashamed 
it  should  be  in  the  family,  and  not  prevented  by  myself  or  servants, 
and  I  humbly  acknowledge  my  negligence  in  it.  And  that  they  made 
their  beds  at  any  time,  were  my  straits  never  so  great,  I  am  sorry  they 
were  ever  put  to  it. 

"  For  the  Moor,  [probably  a  slave,  says  Savage]  his  lying  in  Sam. 
Hough's  sheet  and  pillow-bier,  it  hath  a  truth  in  it ;  he  did  so  one 
time,  and  it  gave  Sam.  Hough  just  cause  of  offence  ;  and  that  it  was 
not  prevented  by  my  care  and  watchfulness,  I  desire  to  take  the  shame 


428  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

The  General  Court  of  this  day  would  have  enough 
on  their  hands  if  they  undertook  to  deal  with  all  such 
delinquents.  As  before  shown,  Eaton  was  dismissed 
and  fined.  And  he  afterward  manifested  a  very  per- 
verse disposition,  giving  the  government  and  church 
authorities  a  good  deal  of  trouble.  He  went  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  there  took  upon  himself  to  fill  the  sacred 
office  of  minister  ;  but,  says  Winthrop,  "  was  given  up 
of  God  to  extreme  pride  and  sensuality,  being  usually 
drunken."  In  the  Briscoe  affair,  however,  it  is  just  to 
remark  that  the  usher  could  not  have  been  altogether 
blameless,  for  no  sane  man  would  have  done  as  Eaton 


and  the  sorrow  for  it.  And  that  they  ate  the  Moor's  crusts,  and  the 
swine  and  they  had  share  and  share  alike ;  and  the  Moor  to  have 
beer,  and  they  denied  it ;  and  if  they  had  not  enough,  for  my  maid  to 
answer,  they  should  not ;  I  am  an  utter  stranger  to  these  things,  and 
know  not  the  least  footsteps  for  them  so  to  charge  me.  And  if  my 
servants  were  guilty  of  such  miscarriages,  had  the  boarders  complained 
of  it  unto  myself,  I  should  have  thought  it  my  sin  if  I  had  not  sharply 
reproved  my  servants  and  endeavored  reform.  And  for  bread  made 
of  heated,  sour  meal,  although  I  know  of  but  once  that  it  was  so, 
since  I  kept  house,  yet  John  Wilson  affirms  it  was  twice ;  and  I  am 
truly  sorry  that  any  of  it  was  spent  amongst  them.  For  beer  and 
bread,  that  it  was  denied  them  by  me  betwixt  meals,  truly  I  do  not 
remember  that  ever  I  did  deny  it  unto  them.  And  John  Wilson  will 
affirm  that  generally  the  bread  and  beer  was  free  for  the  boarders  to 
go  unto.  And  that  money  was  demanded  of  them  for  washing  the 
linen,  it  is  true  it  was  propounded  to  them  but  never  imposed  upon 
them.  And  for  their  pudding  being  given  the  last  day  of  the  week 
without  butter  or  suet,  and  that  I  said  it  was  miln  of  Manchester  in 
Old  England,  it  is  true  that  I  did  say  so,  and  am  sorry  they  had  any 
cause  of  offence  given  them  by  having  it  so.  And  for  their  wanting 
beer  betwixt  brewings,  a  week  or  half  a  week  together,  I  am  sorry 
that  it  was  so  at  any  time,  and  should  tremble  to  have  it  so  were  it  in 
my  hands  to  do  again." 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  429 

did,  without  provocation.  Indeed  something  is  said 
of  Briscoe's  drawing  a  knife  when  he  got  into  the 
house  after  being  thrust  out.  Further  interesting 
facts  in  the  personal  history  of  Eaton,  after  he  left 
the  college,  might  be  presented,  but  enough  has 
appeared,  to  give  a  general  idea  of  his  character. 

Perhaps  a  little  something  further  should  be  said 
respecting  corporeal  punishment  in  Harvard  college. 
It  was  a  subject  that  exercised  the  Court  considerably 
at  different  times.  Here  is  one  order : 

"  Itt  is  heereby  ordered,  that  the  president  and 
fellowes  of  Harvard  Colledg,  for  the  tjme  being,  or 
the  major  part  of  them,  are  heereby  impowred,  accord- 
ing to  theire  best  discretion,  to  punish  all  misde- 
meanors  of  the  youth  in  theire  society,  either  by  fine 
or  whipping  in  the  hall  openly,  as  the  nature  of  the 
offence  shall  require,  not  exceeding  tenn  shillings  or 
tenn  stripes  for  one  offence."  [Court  Records,  Oct. 
14,  1656. 

This  seems  to  place  the  pecuniary  value  of  stripes 
at  a  shilling  each  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  they  were 
to  be  "well  laid  on"  —  harder  than  they  would  be 
now,  as  money  was  of  greater  relative  value.  It  is 
not,  however,  to  be  understood  that  it  was  left  to  the 
option  of  the  students  to  choose  the  mode  of  their 
punishment ;  had  it  been,  few  probably  would  have 
chosen  the  stripes,  as  their  own  backs  must  have 
felt  the  retributive  strokes  ;  while  in  the  matter  of 
fine,  the  parental  purse  would  be  made  to  respond. 


43O  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

It  is  hardly  presumable  that  the  foregoing  enact- 
ment was  elicited  from  any  doubt  as  to  the  common 
law  right  of  a  teacher  to  enforce  discipline  by  a  rea- 
sonable use  of  the  rod.  And  it  is  quite  certain  that 
long  before,  the  college  walls  had  echoed  with  the 
wails  of  students  under  that  emphatic  kind  of  disci- 
pline. Nor  does  it  seem  that  such  inflictions  were 
confined  to  infractions  of  mere  college  law ;  there 
frequently  appearing  something  very  much  like  an 
assumed  jurisdiction  concurrent  with  the  criminal 
courts.  To  say  nothing  of  the  severities  of  Mr. 
Eaton,  there  was  an  instance  in  1644,  wherein  two 
students,  one  a  son  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Ward,  of  Ips- 
wich, and  the  other  a  son  of  Rev.  Thomas  Weld, 
of  Roxbury,  received  a  whipping  from  the  hands  of 
the  worthy  president  himself.  The  age  of  each  of  the 
offenders  was  about  twenty  years,  and  their  offence 
was  not  delinquency  in  college  duties,  but  robbing 
certain  dwelling  houses  in  the  night  time  —  flat  bur- 
glary. And  the  occurrence  shows  that  teachers  then 
considered  themselves  supervisors  of  the  morals  as 
well  as  the  studies  of  the  youth  committed  to  their 
care,  and  authorized  to  call  them  to  account  for  their 
doings  out  of  school  as  well  as  in  ;  a  thing  that  teach- 
ers at  this  day  ignore  to  a  lamentable  extent.  But 
the  morals  of  the  community  would  not  probably  be 
much  damaged  should  the  old  ideas  and  customs 
again  prevail. 

And  now  it  becomes  expedient  to  introduce  a  brief 
narration  which  may  at  first  appear  rather  episodical ; 
but  the  reader  will  in  the  end  perceive  its  applicability 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  431 

to  our  main  purpose.  It  relates  to  the  doleful  days 
of  Witchcraft. 

Quite  within  view  of  the  members  of  the  General 
Court,  of  this  day,  as  they  step  from  the  lordly  portals 
of  the  State  House,  lies  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
territory  anciently  composing  the  great  Town  Pasture 
of  Boston,  which  included  a  corner  of  the  now  vaunted 
Common.  There  were  many  cows  then  kept  to  supply 
the  lacteal  necessities  of  the  virtuous  people,  for  in 
those  unsophisticated  days  it  had  not  been  discovered 
how  easily  all  precious  fluids  might  be  extended  — 
how  easily  the  well,  the  rill,  or  even  the  mud-puddle 
could  be  made  to  increase  the  blessed  secretion  of  the 
kine. 

This  pasture  was  enclosed  by  a  substantial  cobble- 
stone wall,  such  as  surrounds  many  an  acre  in  the 
rural  districts  of  New  England  at  the  present  day, 
with  gaps  of  untrimmed  cedar  rails  at  convenient 
points.  It  embraced  some  pleasant  little  knolls  and 
groves  to  which  the  old  might  repair  to  meditate,  and 
the  young  to  bill  and  coo.  There  were  also  sections 
in  which  nature  appeared  in  her  more  untamed  aspect, 
Here  and  there  was  a  blueberry  or  huckleberry  patch, 
to  which  the  school-boy  would  in  summer  resort  with 
his  pail  or  basket  of  birch.  From  among  the  loose 
rocks  arose  the  prim  barberry  bush,  to  whose  scarlet 
berries  the  rabbet  would  look  wishfully  up  from  his 
bed  of  crackling  autumn  leaves.  There  were  hollows 
of  stagnant  water  and  mud,  around  which  the  berry 
boys  would  gather  to  seek  relief  from  their  labor,  by 
stoning  the  frogs  and  tormenting  the  helpless  tadpoles. 
There  were  brambly  bogs  and  cranberry  patches,  and 


432  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

damp  vallies  filled  with  great  flaunting  ferns.  And 
there  were  poor  little  streams  working  wearily  along 
among  the  rocks  and  rushes. 

On  a  knoll  near  the  centre  of  the  pasture  was  a 
small  grove  of  decrepit  trees,  so  ancient  that  for  many 
generations  the  red  men  might  have  held  their  coun- 
cils in  their  shade,  or  the  dusky  maidens  sung  their 
songs  of  love.  The  underbrush  had  long  refused  to 
grow  there,  either  because  it  did  not  fancy  such  old 
company  or  because  its  due  share  of  sunshine  was 
intercepted. 

It  was  a  convenient  spot  for  keeping  a  watch  along 
the  road  that  led  out  toward  the  south-western  settle- 
ments, and  afforded  views  of  the  harbor  and  the  more 
thickly  settled  portions  of  the  straggling  town.  But 
it  was  a  place  rather  avoided  than  frequented  by  the 
people  of  the  town,  for  to  reach  it  a  girdle  of  swampy 
land,  with  briars  and  interweaving  vines  must  be 
crossed.  And  besides,  there  was  a  report  that  rattle- 
snakes and  other  unenjoyable  creatures  sometimes 
appeared  to  dispute  the  way.  There  was  a  narrow 
footpath  on  the  northerly  side,  in  which  the  mud  was 
not  always  over  shoes,  and  in  which  there  had  been 
discovered  cloven  footprints  of  most  alarming  dimen- 
sions. It  was  a  weird  spot,  particularly  on  a  tempes- 
tuous night,  when  the  gaunt  old  trees  were  groaning 
and  throwing  about  their  spectral  limbs.  The  damp 
easterly  winds  came  howling  over  the  crest  in  grim 
glee,  and  roared  about  as  if  seeking  the  things  most 
worthy  of  their  spite. 

It  was  upon  this  spot,  as  many  believed,  that  the 
witches  held  their  meetings  during  the  bitter  days 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  433 

of  the  excitement.  And  surely  no  better  place  could 
have  been  chosen,  for  there  was  no  habitation  within 
the  distance  to  which  the  noise  of  their  incantations 
would  be  likely  to  reach,  and  no  danger  from  chance 
travelers. 

Perhaps  a  furlong  off,  near  the  Roxbury  road,  was 
the  house  of  Hope-in-God  Granger,  a  thrify  farmer, 
whose  specialty  was  the  raising  of  Indian  corn  and 
pumpkins.  Potatoes,  as  the  reader  well  knows,  had 
hardly  been  heard  of  in  those  days ;  and  there  was 
no  outcry,  every  autumn,  all  over  the  land,  about  the 
ravages  of  the  potato  rot.  Had  they  been  subjected 
to  such  a  calamity,  with  their  few  resources,  many 
wails  would  have  ascended  with  their  thanksgivings. 
The  great  barn  of  Mr.  Granger  was  seated  in  a  hollow, 
some  distance  from  his  house,  and  in  sight  of  the 
knoll  just  described.  Within  its  protecting  walls,  on 
the  evening  of  a  harvest  day,  a  sight  was  often  pre- 
sented enough  to  gladden  the  eyes  of  Madam  Ceres 
herself,  as  well  as  those  of  the  demure  kine  as  they 
filed  in,  after  cropping  the  crisp  and  innutritious 
herbage. 

I  find  a  little  obscurity  in  the  record  as  to  the 
precise  time  at  which  the  incident  I  am  about  to 
relate  occurred.  But  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  it 
transpired  during  the  early  part  of  those  years  of 
distress  in  which  the  realities  of  witchcraft  were  so 
fatally  manifest.  It  had  long  been  suspected  that  a 
fearful  storm  was  brewing ;  that  satan  was  preparing 
for  a  vigorous  assault  on  God's  chosen  people  here 
gathered,  once  in  such  hopeful  obscurity. 

There  was  a  certain  old  woman  in  the  vicinity, 
s  28 


434  V-      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

known  as  Goodwife  Backshod,  who  had  been  long 
thought  to  be  in  training  by  the  evil  one  for  the 
practice  of  the  black  art.  She  was  squint-eyed  and 
querulous  ;  both  very  suspicious  marks.  And  then 
she  was  coarse  in  her  manners  and  habits.  The 
suspicions,  however,  seem  first  to  have  arisen  from 
the  fact  that  the  prints  of  cloven-feet  had  sometimes 
been  observed  in  the  lane  where  she  lived,  and  about 
her  unenclosed  door-yard  ;  and  they  were  strengthen- 
ed by  the  circumstance  that  when  she  took  possession 
of  her  lonely  habitation,  she  removed  with  her  own 
hand,  the  horse-shoe  which  a  former  occupant  had 
nailed  to  the  lintel,  declaring  that  she  had  no  fear  of 
the  devil's  disturbing  her.  And  then  she  had  three 
black  cats,  who  would  sit  at  table  for  their  meals,  and 
before  partaking  fold  their  fore  paws  and  look  de- 
murely down  for  a  few  moments  ;  which  extraordinary 
accomplishment  was  taught  them  by  incalculable  pa- 
tience, and  was  done,  many  thought,  in  derision  of  the 
pious  duty  of  asking  a  blessing. 

It  was  also  alleged  that  two  or  three  times,  on  dark 
nights,  a  strangely  ill-shaped  black  man  —  at  least 
the  observers  thought  him  black  —  with  a  square 
package  under  his  arm,  was  seen  whipping  around 
the  corner  of  the  house.  And  furthermore,  on  one 
extremely  tempestuous  night,  he  was  seen  passing 
down  the  lane,  with  a  lantern,  and  when  opposite  the 
window  that  was  toward  the  road,  a  light  appeared  at 
one  of  the  four  little  panes,  as  if  placed  there  as  some 
sort  of  signal.  And  whenever  and  wherever  he  was 
seen,  he  had  the  same  bundle  under  his  arm,  which 
led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  contained  the  record 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  435 

book  of  the  witches,  and  that  he  was  a  duly  appointed 
traveling  scribe. 

Then  there  was  an  old  man  with  toothless  gums 
and  bristling  gray  beard,  who  had  long  been  known 
as  traveling  from  place  to  place  with  herbs  and  a  few 
simple  remedial  concoctions  for  sale,  and  who  had  got 
the  ill-will  of  many,  though  no  one  could  lay  a  finger 
on  any  evil  act  of  his  nomadic  life.  He  was  seen  one 
day  with  some  loose  leaves  of  a  book,  which  he  was 
poring  over  very  attentively,  the  leaves  being  about 
the  size  of  those  of  the  supposed  book  carried  by  the 
black  man.  It  was  therefore  imagined  that  they  were 
minutes  of  occurrences  in  the  world  of  witchery  which 
had  not  then  been  fully  recorded.  There  were  others, 
in  the  different  neighborhoods,  who,  by  evidence  quite 
as  conclusive,  were  set  down  as  preparing  to  practice 
in  the  dark  mysteries  already  the  subject  of  great  and 
increasing  apprehension. 

And  then  it  became  loudly  talked  that  the  wizards 
and  witches  had  actually  begun  to  hold  weekly  meet- 
ings and  partake  of  the  devil's  sacrament  somewhere 
in  the  Boston  Great  Pasture ;  meetings  which  were 
attended  by  those  from  far  and  near  who  had  bartered 
away  their  souls,  after  death,  for  certain  undefined 
supernatural  powers  to  be  exercised  in  this  world. 
The  magistrates  and  lesser  officers  were  at  once  on 
the  alert,  and  suitable  measures  taken  to  ascertain 
the  precise  locality  where  the  satanic  orgies  were 
held,  as  well  as  to  gather  proof  respecting  the  persons 
who  attended.  This  was  difficult,  because  few  had 
courage  to  watch,  at  night,  in  that  lonely  pasture  — 
and  the  meetings  were  never  held  by  day.  A  con- 


436  V.      EDUCATIONAL   GLIMMERINGS. 

siderable  time  elapsed  before  any  material  develop- 
ments took  place. 

Finally,  one  afternoon,  a  student  hurried  over  from 
Harvard  college,  professing  to  have  been  sent  by  the 
president,  and  notified  the  magistrates  that  certain 
information  had  been  obtained  that  the  witches  were 
that  very  night  to  hold  a  grand  meeting  on  the  knoll 
in  the  Great  Pasture,  before  described.  Spirited 
measures  were  at  once  adopted  to  make  a  descent  — 
or  more  literally  an  ascent  —  for  the  capture  of  the 
whole  band  —  black  spirits  and  white,  blue  spirits 
and  gray  —  and  thus  at  one  fell  swoop  utterly  extin- 
guish the  infernal  fire  before  it  could  spread  beyond 
control. 

The  student  suggested  the  propriety  of  conducting 
the  affair  in  as  private  a  manner  as  possible,  both  to 
prevent  a  miscarriage  and  to  avoid  becoming  objects 
of  spite  and  evil  machination.  There  was  soon  much 
running  here  and  there,  many  confidential  consulta- 
tions, and  many  brave  utterances  of  determination 
to  do  good  service  in  the  hazardous  enterprise.  By 
the  hour  appointed,  which  was  rather  early  in  the 
evening,  a  motley  array  of  strong  armed  heroes, 
backed  by  courageous  hearts,  were  assembled  at  the 
meeting  house  —  on  the  lee  side,  for  the  wind  was 
chilly  —  ready  to  march  forth,  unflinchingly,  to  cap- 
ture the  infernal  crew  who  were  so  conspiring  to 
disturb  the  peace  of  God's  people. 

After  listening  to  a  few  words  of  exhortation  and 
encouragement,  and  a  long  prayer,  they  took  up  their 
line  of  march  in  the  order  of  a  rabble.  The  night 
was  not  very  dark,  for  there  was  a  large  moon,  though 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  437 

the  clouds  were  thick  and  a  cutting  sleet  began  to 
patter  at  intervals.  After  entering  the  pasture  their 
sorest  perils  and  perplexities  began.  Faces  and  hands 
were  scratched  by  briars  ;  shins  were  battered  by 
rocks  ;  and  with  unimpeachable  mud  were  they  be- 
smeared. 

But  unfalteringly  they  strode  on  till  they  reached 
the  little  footpath  at  the  northern  side  of  the  knoll. 
Along  this  they  cautiously  filed,  as  they  began  to 
realize  their  proximity  to  the  awful  scene.  Their 
progress,  after  all,  had  been  remarkably  direct,  for 
their  burly  pioneer  seemed  able  to  make  good  his 
boast  that  there  never  was  a  fox  that  knew  better 
than  he  the  way  over  the  pasture.  And  they  had 
proceeded  in  silence,  for  though  a  drum,  a  trumpet, 
and  a  cracked  fiddle  had  been  brought  by  some 
thoughtless  fellows,  they  obeyed  the  injunction  to 
keep  silence  till  their  hour  of  triumph. 

At  the  foot  of  the  knoll  a  pause  was  made.  They 
listened,  and  presently  thought  they  heard  portentous 
sounds,  though  nothing  like  human  voices  could  be 
distinguished  ;  no  laughter,  no  wrangling.  A  solitary 
owl  hooted,  and  the  wind  moaned  dismally  in  the 
trees.  The  latter  they  thought  might  be  infernal 
whisperings  ;  and  the  hootings,  calls  for  those  who 
had  lost  their  way  in  the  swamp  ;  though  the  Har- 
vard student,  who  had  just  joined  them  from  another 
direction  roguishly  suggested  that  possibly  it  might 
be  the  black  man  blowing  his  nose,  having  suddenly 
taken  cold  by  exposure  to  the  raw  east  wind. 

A  little  time  was  now  occupied  in  making  a  proper 
disposition  of  forces,  and  admirable  discretion  was 


43  8  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

exercised  in  preserving  silence  and  promptly  accept- 
ing position.  Then  a  discussion  in  whispers  arose 
as  to  whether  there  should  be  a  formal  summons  to 
surrender,  or  an  assault  pell-mell ;  and  the  pell-mell ers 
had  it ;  they  claiming  that  in  this  manner  a  panic 
would  be  created,  and  the  enemy  induced  to  surren- 
der without  discretion.  So  the  whole  company  cleared 
their  throats  and  rushed  forward  with  such  horrible 
yells  as  were  enough  to  put  to  blush  a  band  of  infuri- 
ate Indians,  the  trumpet  braying,  the  drum  beating, 
and  the  fiddle  squeaking.  They  reached  the  top 
of  the  hill,  ranting  like  fiends,  their  cries  forming  a 
wild  ringing  accompaniment  to  the  dismal  night 
breeze.  And  they  continued  to  dash  around,  scratch- 
ing themselves  against  the  rough  trunks,  until,  from 
sheer  exhaustion,  their  extraordinary  antics  began  to 
moderate. 

But  the  enemy  —  where  were  they?  gone  ;  utterly 
extinguished  ;  sunk  into  the  earth  ;  flown  into  the 
air ;  at  any  rate,  not  one  was  to  be  seen.  They 
peered  into  the  bushes,  and  sniffed  the  air,  but  saw 
no  blue-lights,  smelled  no  brimstone.  They  gazed  up 
above  the  spectral  branches,  but  saw  none  careering 
round  on  broom-sticks.  Not  even  a  bat  was  flying  in 
the  air,  nor  a  lizard  creeping  on  the  earth. 

The  ground  was  carefully  examined,  even  down  the 
declivity,  for  they  had  now  lighted  their  lanterns,  but 
not  a  cloven  track  was  found.  Had  all  their  toil 
been  for  nought,  and  must  they  return,  without  ac- 
complishing any  thing,  to  be  laughing-stocks  for  their 
neighbors  ?  Their  chagrin  was  great,  but  what  des- 
perate thing  could  they  do  relieve  its  pangs.  There 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  439 

they  stood,  as  pitiful  a  group  as  ever  needed  a  com- 
forter. But  no  comforter  was  heard  in  the  wild 
revelry  of  the  elements  —  in  the  roaring  ocean  nor  the 
moaning  wind.  And  the  keen  cutting  kisses  of  the 
rattling  sleet  had  no  soothing  power.  And  then  the 
thought  of  facing  the  storm  on  their  homeward  march, 
with  the  great  object  of  their  expedition  unaccom- 
plished, to  be  subjected  to  the  jeers  of  their  inconsid- 
erate neighbors,  was  any  thing  but  cheering. 

Presently,  however,  the  student  began  to  gaze  off, 
with  a  good  deal  of  earnestness,  toward  Mr.  Granger's 
barn.  There  seemed  to  be  some  strange  fascination, 
as  he  would  frequently  change  his  position,  and  stoop 
down  and  peer  under  the  low  branches,  shading  his 
eyes  by  his  hand,  though  from  what  light  it  was  not 
possible  to  discern.  Finally,  he  declared  his  convic- 
tion, still  keeping  his  eyes  in  the  attractive  direction 
of  the  barn,  that  the  witches,  in  anticipation  of  a 
stormy  night,  had  gone  from  the  hill,  and  were  hold- 
ing their  meeting  there ;  earnestly  asseverating  that 
he  could  discern  lights  twinkling  through  the  chinks. 
He  strongly  urged  that  they  should  proceed  to  recon- 
noitre. There  was  certainly  no  prospect  of  accom- 
plishing any  thing  by  remaining  where  they  were,  and 
so  they  very  readily  fell  in  with  his  suggestion. 

They  silently  groped  their  way  down  the  rocky 
declivity,  and  took  the  cow-path  that  wound  toward 
the  lonely  structure.  As  they  drew  near,  they  per- 
ceived that  there  were  indeed  lights  within.  The 
knees  of  some  began  to  tremble,  but  still  onward 
they  staggered.  A  few  more  rods  gained,  and  they 
were  horrified  and  brought  to  a  dead  stand,  by  hearing 


44O  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

shouts  of  laughter,  and  a  medley  of  suspicious  sounds. 
A  consultation  was  held  in  whispers.  Some  were 
for  abandoning  the  whole  enterprise  and  skulking 
home,  declaring  that  their  force  was  not  sufficient 
to  attack  such  an  enemy,  so  entrenched.  Others, 
however,  courageously  proclaimed  their  readiness  to 
grapple  with  the  foe  even  were  Satan  himself  there  to 
personally  lead  in  the  defence.  Among  the  latter 
was  the  Harvard  student,  who  manifested  an  unne- 
cessary degree  of  enthusiasm,  declaring  that  it  would 
be  disgraceful  in  the  extreme  to  allow  such  a  golden 
opportunity  to  do  a  noble  service,  and  elevate  them- 
selves in  the  esteem  of  the  community,  to  slip  by  un- 
improved. And  ferociously  dashing  his  outer  garment 
on  the  ground,  he  avowed  his  readiness  to  lead  in  the 
assault. 

As  courage  begets  courage,  it  was  not  long  before 
an  attack  was  agreed  upon.  It  was,  however,  de- 
termined to  give  the  enemy  a  chance  to  surrender 
before  the  death  dealing  blows  fell  upon  their  heads. 
To  this  end  a  discreet  old  blacksmith  was  appointed 
to  approach  and  demand  a  capitulation.  He  was 
soon  thundering  at  the  door  of  the  barn  with  the  butt 
of  his  musket.  Instantly  all  was  silent  as  death  within. 
He  then  proceeded  cautiously  to  lift  the  great  wooden 
latch,  and  with  stentorian  voice  and  a  wheeze  that 
might  have  thrown  into  the  shade  the  efforts  of  his 
own  emulous  shop  bellows,  demanded  that  all  within 
should  extinguish  their  brimstone  fires,  cease  boiling 
their  hell-broth,  and  come  forth  and  be  bound.  Then 
all  the  band  without,  lustily  shouted,  to  certify  to  the 
wretches  within  that  they  were  surrounded,  and  need 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  441 

entertain  no  hope  of  escape.  This  gave  a  serious 
aspect  to  affairs. 

Fearful  shrieks  were  now  heard,  and  female  voices 
calling  in  great  alarm.  And  then  manly  voices  de- 
manded the  occasion  of  such  an  unwarrantable  dis- 
turbance of  an  assemblage  of  honest  people.  Some 
began  to  cry  that  it  was  an  attack  of  Indians  and  to 
urge  all  to  arm  for  defence,  with  the  best  weapons  at 
hand.  Pitchforks,  flails,  goads,  and  divers  other  deadly 
weapons  were  grasped,  and  a  very  effectual  resistance 
promised. 

At  this  juncture,  the  student,  more  reckless  than 
any  other,  suggested  that  the  door  be  thrown  wide 
open  and  the  whole  force  march  boldly  up ;  and 
before  he  could  be  restrained,  had  himself  rushed 
forward  and  swung  back  the  stiff  old  hinges.  A 
flood  of  light  poured  out  upon  the  darkness.  And 
simultaneously  a  flood  of  light  poured  in  upon  the 
minds  of  the  besiegers. 

Now  what  should  that  assembly  prove  to  be  ? 
What  but  an  innocent,  husking  party  —  a  jovial  party 
of  old  men  and  women,  young  men  and  maidens  ? 
This  gave  rather  a  comical  turn  to  the  affair.  There 
stood  a  score  or  so  of  stout  men  —  grave  men,  magis- 
trates, and  king's  officers  among  them  —  confronting 
about  the  same  number  of  amiable  corn-strippers. 
The  scene  was  eminently  ludicrous  and  called  forth 
prolonged  laughter  from  either  side. 

On  the  subsidence  of  the  first  outburst  a  scene  of 
more  rational  merriment  ensued.  But  the  new  comers 
were  hardly  in  a  fit  frame  of  mind  to  partake  in  the 
diversions  with  much  enthusiasm.  The  Harvard  stu- 


442  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

dent,  however,  joined  in,  with  much  heartiness.  He 
seated  himself  beside  a  blushing  maiden,  who  coyly 
upbraided  him  for  having  been  gone  a  whole  hour, 
after  having  said  that  he  was  only  going  out  for  a 
little  run,  to  restore  his  cramped  legs.  She  told  him 
they  had  been  much  alarmed  at  desperate  outcries 
heard  in  the  distance  in  the  direction  of  the  Great 
Pasture,  and  rejoiced  that  he  had  not  fallen  in  with 
witches  or  witch-hunters,  as  in  the  dark  he  might 
have  been  killed. 

The  invaders  of  the  sanctity  of  the  husking-floor 
presently  drew  off,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  who 
accepted  the  general  invitation  to  tarry  and  partake 
in  the  remaining  labors  and  festivities.  The  home- 
ward march  was  in  almost  utter  silence,  none  having 
much  desire  to  recount  the  adventures  of  the  evening, 
which  formed  about  the  only  topic  upon  which  they 
could  rally  their  thoughts.  It  was  as  much  as  each 
desired  to  do,  to  mutely  grope  for  reasons  to  justify 
himself  in  the  foolish  part  he  had  acted.  The  stirring 
music  of  their  drum  was  not  heard,  nor  did  the 
cheering  trumpet  blast  ring  over  the  stormy  hills. 
But  a  small  band  of  wild  geese,  benighted  on  the 
wing,  uttered  a  few  languid  notes,  which  echoed  like 
those  of  taunting  spirits  in  the  air.  Nor  were  even 
the  awakening  tones  of  the  cracked  fiddle  heard 
among  them,  for  that  dulcet  instrument  had  been 
retained  to  do  duty  in  the  barn,  when  the  labors 
of  the  evening  were  closed. 

The  golden  ears  had  been  divested  of  their  rustling 
robes,  and  heaped  in  a  corner,  and  the  red-ear  forfeits 
all  paid.  Then  the  capacious  floor  was  cleared  and 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  443 

the  old  fiddle  brought  in  requisition  for  a  merry  bout. 
And  a  right  jolly  time  they  had  of  it,  those  roguish 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  sturdy  old  puritans,  divers 
of  the  elders  remaining,  complacent  witnesses  of  the 
cheery  scene.  And  many  were  the  pleasant  jokes  ut- 
tered at  the  expense  of  the  discomfited  witch-hunters. 
Not  one  entered  into  the  closing  scenes  with  more 
relish  than  our  academic  friend  from  Cambridge. 
And  somehow  it  fell  to  his  happy  lot  to  escort  to  the 
house  of  the  friend  whom  she  was  visiting,  the  same 
sparkling  maiden  who  had  so  coyly  upbraided  him  for 
his  long  absence  from  her  side.  The  storm,  it  is 
true,  had  not  much  abated,  and  it  was  also  the  lonely 
midnight  —  reasons  enough  why  she  should  snuggle 
the  more  closely  to  his  side.  So  it  was,  no  doubt,  on 
the  whole,  an  enjoyable  walk. 

This  witch-hunting  expedition  of  course  occasioned 
a  good  deal  of  merriment  all  over  the  Colony.  Some 
of  the  most  pious  and  sedate  men  in  the  community 
were  made  ridiculous  by  it.  And  the  grave  discus- 
sions that  followed  developed  as  great  absurdities  as 
do  many  of  the  theological  discussions  of  the  present 
day.  Some  who  had  engaged  in  it,  however,  solemnly 
protested  that  they  should  have  had  no  part  nor  lot 
in  it,  had  it  not  appeared  that  the  president  of  the 
college  had  recommended  that  it  be  undertaken. 
These  protestations  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
classic  dignitary,  he  vehemently  denied  that  he  either 
sent  any  message,  made  any  recommendation  or  even 
suspected  that  the  witches  were  about  making  any 
diabolical  demonstration.  This  brought  the  young 
student  —  whose  name  it  ought  to  have  been  before 


V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 


stated  was  David  Sweetman  —  seriously  in  question, 
the  principal  magistrate  insisting  that  he  came  with 
a  message  purporting  to  be  from  the  president. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  college  authorities  was 
convened,  and  Sweetman  summoned  before  them. 
His  spirits  sank  to  a  much  lower  point  than  they 
attained  on  the  weird  night  of  the  hunt.  But  then 
he  had  had  the  dance  and  ought  not  to  demur  when 
the  piper  called  for  his  pay.  He  did  appear,  like  a 
man,  and  acknowledged  the  truth  of  much  that  the 
witnesses  stated  against  him.  But  he  utterly  denied 
having  ever  said  that  he  made  any  announcement  as 
a  message  from  the  president  ;  admitting,  however, 
that  they  might  have  inferred  something  of  the  kind 
from  what  he  did  say.  But  they  were  not  in  a  mood 
to  appreciate  delicate  lingual  distinctions.  Without 
much  circumlocution  they  adjudged  him  guilty  of 
lying.  And  he,  a  little  nettled  at  this,  launched  divers 
rather  tart  reflections  at  their  discernment,  accusing 
them  of  being  unable  to  comprehend  an  innocent 
practical  joke.  But  that  did  not  mend  matters.  Ad- 
vancing such  views  to  that  learned  bench  was  about 
as  effective  as  urging  abstract  principles  upon  a  row 
of  fat  oysters. 

The  result  of  the  examination  was  the  condemna- 
tion of  Sweetman  to  a  severe  whipping,  or,  as  an 
alternative,  a  seat  for  four  hours  in  the  stocks.  And 
he  was  benevolently  allowed  to  take  his  choice.  He 
unhesitatingly  chose  the  whipping  —  or  "whiping," 
as  the  record  has  it,  in  sparing  the  ps  ;  an  example 
of  orthographical  frugality  that  Webster  would  proba- 
bly have  followed  had  he  dared  to.  The  choice  was 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  445 

induced,  it  is  likely,  partly  by  the  greater  notoriety 
of  the  stocks  and  partly  by  the  fact  that  flights  of  stale 
eggs  and  other  unsavory  things  were  liable  to  occur 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  heads  of  culprits  who  were  taking 
a  siesta  in  them.  But  the  most  forcible  reason  of  all 
perhaps  was,  the  fear  of  being  subjected  to  one  of  the 
long-drawn  lectures  of  the  fatherly  president,  who, 
whenever  a  sheep  of  his  flock  happened  unfortunately 
to  get  into  durance,  made  it  a  part  of  his  religion  to 
go  forth  and  graphically  picture  to  him  the  dismal 
strait  to  which  his  evil  course  was  hastening  him. 
And  the  academic  rogues  were  accustomed  to  declare 
that  they  could  with  greater  equanimity  endure  an 
egg-shower  than  one  of  these  discourses. 

It  was  settled,  then,  that  Sweetman  should  have  a 
sound  whipping ;  and  the  pleasure  of  inflicting  it  was 
accorded  to  the  Latin  professor.  The  student  being 
rather  below  par  in  Latin,  it  was  thought  that  the 
professor  might  at  the  same  time  settle  up  for  certain 
former  delinquencies  specially  pertaining  to  his  de- 
partment —  kill  two  birds  with  one  stone,  so  to  speak. 
And  thus  considered,  it  was  not  deemed  likely  that 
the  blows  would  fall  with  undeserved  tenderness. 

The  time  set  for  the  punishment  was  at  the  close 
of  that  day's  exercises,  and  all  the  students  were 
notified  to  be  present.  Accordingly,  just  as  the 
shades  of  evening  began  to  render  dim  the  objects  in 
the  great  hall,  the  seats  along  the  sides  began  to  be 
occupied  by  the  forced  witnesses  of  retributive  justice, 
most  of  whom  would  much  rather  have  been  kicking 
foot-ball  in  the  adjacent  lot. 

At  one  end  of  the  hall  sat  the  venerable  president, 


446  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

encircled  by  his  staff  of  teachers,  and  grinned  on 
from  the  shelf  above  by  plaster  images  of  Vane, 
Cromwell,  and  divers  other  puritanical  saints.  He 
of  the  Latin  rule  stood  somewhat  in  advance  of  the 
group,  and  evidently  felt  the  importance  of  his  posi- 
tion. He  now  and  then  beat  the  air  with  his  heavy 
raw  hide  thong,  as  if  to  measure  its  efficiency,  and 
from  his  dalliances  seemed  desirous  of  prolonging  the 
enjoyable  moments  of  suspense,  as  doth  pussy  when 
about  to  victimize  a  poor  little  mouse.  Finally,  with 
a  stately  air,  and  in  well-set  Latin  terms,  he  bade  the 
expectant  culprit  step  forth.  If  the  victim  had  not 
understood  the  Latin,  he  could  not  have  mistaken 
the  stern  beckoning  of  the  weapon.  And  with  a 
slightly  faltering  step  he  approached. 

A  murmur  ran  along  the  line  of  students  ;  but  the 
instant  rising  of  the  whole  body  of  teachers  —  not  a 
very  formidable  phalanx,  though  —  with  the  magis- 
trate and  two  or  three  subordinate  officers  which  the 
occasion  had  called  together,  suppressed  any  approach 
to  open  mutiny. 

Sweetman  was  now  commanded  to  lay  aside  his 
outer  garment.  It  was  an  awful  moment,  and  his 
eye  rolled  imploringly  to  the  mute  array  of  dignitaries, 
and  then  to  his  downcast  fellow-students,  as  he  slowly 
disrobed.  He  saw  no  prospect  of  relief;  no  mark 
of  relenting,  on  the  brow  of  authority,  no  symptom 
of  uprising  among  his  compeers  ;  no,  no ;  nor  was 
there  any  prospect  of  a  sudden  tornado  to  scatter 
them,  nor  earthquake  to  swallow  them  up ;  nothing 
of  the  kind.  And  he  prepared  courageously  to  meet 
what  he  saw  no  possible  way  to  avoid. 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  447 

His  back  was  bared  for  the  stripes,  and  he  bent 
forward  upon  the  bar  that  had  been  erected  as  a  con- 
venient aid  in  the  torture.  Then  the  strap  of  the 
weapon  was  securely  wound  about  the  wrist  of  the 
professor,  to  prevent  slipping ;  the  lips  were  heroic- 
ally drawn  in,  and  the  strong  arm  raised  aloft  for  the 
first  great  blow  ;  when  — 

Ah !  many  a  slip,  &c.  .  .  .  There  came  a 
sudden  rap  at  the  door ;  not  very  loud,  to  be  sure, 
but  in  that  deathlike  stillness  decidedly  startling. 
Had  a  good  providence,  then,  at  that  critical  moment, 
interposed  ?  No  wonder  that  the  account  of  the 
marvelous  turn  in  the  affair  of  Abraham  and  Isaac 
on  the  holy  Mount  of  Sacrifice,  should  have  shot 
through  his  bewildered  mind  and  brought  a  gleam 
of  hope.  The  door  was  opened  by  one  standing  near, 
and  a  hasty  message  received  for  the  armed  champion 
himself.  And  then  it  abruptly  closed  ;  not  so  sud- 
denly, however,  but  that  the  flowing  skirts  of  a  lady's 
dress  were  visible. 

On  receiving  the  message,  the  professor  dropped 
his  weapon  as  if  it  had  been  a  rod  of  hot  iron,  and 
strode  out,  leaving  his  victim  palpitating  at  the  rail. 
He  remained  without,  for  some  minutes,  in  a  confer- 
ence the  nature  of  which  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to 
attempt  to  unfold.  But  when  he  returned,  his  coun- 
tenance was  clothed  in  a  subtle  smirk  such  as  had  long 
been  a  stranger  there.  Instead  of  resuming  his  duties 
at  the  point  where  he  had  broken  off,  he  retired  into 
a  corner  with  the  president  and  magistrate,  and  there 
held  an  earnest  conference.  The  subject  of  their 
discourse,  however,  did  not  seem  to  be  particularly 


448  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

solemn,  for  the  president  soon  indulged  in  divers  sly 
winks  and  knowing  smiles,  and  even  became  so  unbe- 
comingly elated  as  to  punch  the  ribs  of  the  professor 
in  his  cunning  way.  And  the  magistrate,  too,  seemed 
half-idiotic  in  his  smirks  and  funny  pantomime. 

Finally,  the  professor  sank  grinning  into  a  seat, 
and  the  president  stepped  toward  the  disrobed  student 
who  stood  shivering  between  hope  and  fear.  Hope, 
however,  gained  the  ascendancy,  as  the  dignitary 
approached  unarmed  ;  and  it  grew  very  bright  when 
in  gentle  tones  he  spake  comforting  words,  and  then 
handed  toward  him  the  garments  of  which  he  had 
been  divested.  He  reclothed  with  alacrity.  And 
then,  with  beaming  countenance  the  president  an- 
nounced to  the  wondering  assembly  that  for  good 
and  sufficient  reasons,  though  such  as  it  was  not 
deemed  expedient  thus  publicly  to  make  known,  the 
punishment  was  postponed.  The  class  boys  cheered 
and  clapped  their  hands  ;  the  tallow-dips  blinked  and 
nodded  their  smutty  heads ;  and  all  retired,  well 
pleased  to  adjourn  to  the  supper  table,  where  it  is  to 
be  hoped  they  found,  after  their  nervous  excitement, 
something  better  than  their  usual  fare  of  "  porridge, 
and  that  very  homely." 

Sweetman  was  really  a  fine  young  fellow,  and 
belonged  to  a  family  of  the  first  respectability.  But 
that  did  not  prevent  an  occasional  manifestation  of 
his  fondness  for  a  practical  joke,  nor  make  him  a 
good  Latin  scholar. 

But  how  about  his  relief  from  the  punishment  ? 
It  was  a  long  time  before  the  interesting  matter  fully 
transpired.  It  finally,  however,  came  to  light  that  the 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  445 

feminine  apparition  which  so  opportunely  appeared 
at  the  door  of  the  hall,  was  the  courageous  and  bril- 
liant young  daughter  of  the  Latin  professor  himself. 
What  acknowledgments,  pleadings  or  declarations  she 
made  to  her  surprised  father,  are  not  recorded.  But 
they  evidently  had  a  wonderful  effect.  It  also  ap- 
peared that  she  was  the  same  coy  maiden  by  whose 
side  Sweetman  so  unceremoniously  seated  himself 
when  with  the  witch-hunters  he  entered  Mr.  Granger's 
barn,  and  who  so  familiarly  upbraided  him  for  his  long 
absence.  These  things,  together,  partially  elucidate 
the  mysterious  affair. 

I  said  the  whipping  was  postponed.  But  there 
seems  to  be  no  evidence  that  it  was  ever  inflicted. 
Indeed  there  is  good  evidence  that  Mr.  Sweetman 
was  soon  in  special  favor  with  the  Latin  professor, 
for  he  was  frequently  a  visitor  at  his  house,  and  with 
the  utmost  regularity  took  his  Sunday  evening  meal 
there  so  long  as  he  remained  a  student  at  the  college. 
And  more  than  all  we  find  that  in  due  time  the 
gracious  professor  entrusted  to  his  keeping  the  most 
precious  jewel  that  he  possessed  —  even  that  same 
bright  jewel  of  a  daughter. 

Several  accounts  of  flagellations  in  Harvard  college, 
other  than  those  of  which  we  have  so  briefly  spoken, 
are  found  in  the  old  papers  that  so  luckily  fell  into 
our  hands.  But  as  it  might  make  the  descendants 
of  the  sufferers  feel  uncomfortable  to  have  the  names 
of  their  ancestors  blazoned  forth  in  such  questionable 
connection,  we  forbear  to  introduce  them,  save  in  one 
rather  exceptional  instance. 

29 


45O  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

It  may  not  be  known  to  such  readers  as  have  not 
made  themselves  familiar  with  certain  of  the  minuter 
though  eminently  important  facts  in  the  early  history 
of  New  England,  that  President  Dunster  had  a  mortal 
hatred  of  snakes.  This,  it  may  be  concluded,  was 
one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  he  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  institution,  though  indeed  his  learning  and 
piety  were  unquestionable.  Snakes  were  supposed 
to  be  the  pet  progeny  of  the  evil  one ;  and  he  who 
possessed  a  natural  horror  of  them  was  deemed  so  far 
an  alien  to  the  dark  covenant  under  which  they  lived 
and  moved. 

As  is  usual  in  instances  like  that  of  the  worthy 
president,  not  a  small  measure  of  fear  was  mingled 
with  the  hatred  ;  and  so  the  good  man  was  ever  on 
the  alert,  when  in  the  woods  or  fields,  shying  hither 
and  thither,  and  sometimes  taking  to  a  tree  or  to  his 
heels  ;  for  one  could  not  often,  in  those  days,  walk 
far  from  the  thicker  portions  of  the  settlements  with- 
out encountering  an  individual  or  two  of  the  dreaded 
species.  He,  in  common  with  all  the  people  of  the 
time,  believed  that  snakes  had  the  subtle  power  of 
fascination,  or  charming,  conceiving  it  to  be  a  direct 
gift  from  their  father,  the  old  deludor,  as  a  special 
means  for  working  mischief.  He  was  sedulous  in 
quest  of  evidence  pertaining  to  all  instances  of  charm- 
ing of  which  he  could  hear,  and  is  said  to  have  once 
walked  to  Hampton  to  see  a  chicken  which  had  been 
rescued  just  as  it  was  popping  its  brainless  head  into 
the  distended  throat  of  a  venerable  rattlesnake  — 
rescued  by  a  great  unimaginative  swine  who  happened 
that  way,  and  unceremoniously  seized  the  snake  for 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  451 

his  own  breakfast.  It  is  also  said  that  he  went  down 
to  Plymouth  to  inquire  into  the  particulars  of  an 
alleged  instance  of  charming  practised  by  one  of  the 
wily  reptiles  on  a  little  maid  who  was  out  blackberry- 
ing,  the  spell  being  broken  by  the  redoubtable  Miles 
Standish  who  happened  that  way,  sword  in  hand,  in 
pursuit  of  a  red  fox.  The  Indians  shamefully  im- 
posed on  him  several  times  by  their  ridiculous  stories 
and  led  him  into  wearisome  hunts. 

The  good  man  even  carried  his  antipathy  to  poor 
innocent  eels,  because  of  their  resemblance  to  snakes, 
and  would  not  allow  one  in  the  college  rations,  there 
being,  as  he  declared,  enough  devil  in  the  students 
already.  Charles  river  abounded  with  most  luscious 
eels,  and  it  seemed  hard  that  the  poor  students  should 
not  have  the  privilege  of  now  and  then  diversifying 
their  mean  porridge  diet  with  a  sample,  particularly  as 
they  were  ready  to  do  the  catching,  as  well  as  take 
the  risk  of  contracting  moral  distempers  in  the  diges- 
tion. The  eels,  however,  made  no  complaint  about 
the  interdiction,  and  no  doubt  preferred  to  snuggle 
in  the  river  mud  rather  than  become  a  part  of  even 
a  Harvard  student  through  the  transforming  process 
of  human  digestion. 

The  wary  president  never  walked  in  the  woods 
without  a  trusty  cudgel,  and  never  fled  with  greater 
precipitancy  than  when  he  had  a  proper  chance  to 
use  it.  And  he  made  a  most  comical  figure  when 
running,  for  then  his  progress  bore  some  resemblance 
to  that  of  the  kangaroo  —  stepping  as  if  he  were 
running  up  very  steep  stairs.  The  students  were, 
of  course,  fully  apprised  of  his  peculiar  aversion. 


452  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

And  on  their  part  there  was  no  aversion  to  deriving 
a  little  sport  from  it,  when  they  safely  could. 

When  the  president  attended  meeting,  on  lecture 
days,  if  it  was  pleasant,  he  always  took  a  short  by-path 
that  ran  through  a  little  patch  of  woods.  So,  upon  a 
certain  occasion,  a  couple  of  waggish  students,  having 
in  their  possession  the  body  of  an  enormous  black 
snake,  which  a  farmer-boy  had  that  morning  killed, 
they  tied  a  thread  about  the  neck,  and  coiling  it 
up  in  the  by-path  aforesaid,  in  the  most  natural 
manner  possible,  retired  into  the  bushes,  taking  the 
end  of  the  thread,  and  there  patiently  awaited  devel- 
opments. 

Presently  a  little  dog  came  trotting  along,  and 
instinctively  perceiving  that  the  reptile  was  dead  — 
though  it  is  a  mystery  how  unreasoning  animals  as 
we  irrationally  call  them,  can  so  unerringly  discern 
the  fact  of  death  —  gave  a  smell,  jumped  over,  and 
pursued  his  way.  Then  a  hungry  crow  came  flapping 
along,  and  gave  a  knowing  caw  as  he  settled  down 
beside  the  slimy  coils.  He,  too,  instinctively  perceived 
that  there  was  no  life  there,  and  gave  a  peck  at  the 
eye.  A  slight  twitch  of  the  string  made  him  hop 
off  a  step  or  two  with  a  hasty  flap  of  the  wings, 
though  he  did  not  seem  much  alarmed.  Cocking  his 
head  cunningly  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other,  as 
if  to  take  a  new  survey,  he  hopped  back  again,  and 
poising  on  one  foot,  seemed  to  say,  "  Come  now,  you 
know  you  're  dead  ;  so  none  of  your  false  pretences. 
I  know  you  snakes  are  called  cunning  ;  but  so  are  we 
crows.  Yes,  sir,  you  're  dead  ;  so  lie  still  and  let  me 
have  another  peck  at  that  eye,  for  which  you  have  no 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  453 

further  use."  Then  he  gave  another  peck.  And  then 
the  body  gave  another  jump,  being  galvanized  by  a 
second  and  more  violent  twitch  of  the  string.  This 
was  a  puzzler  to  the  crow  ;  but  as  he  was  not  disposed 
to  waste  time  on  a  philosophical  examination,  when 
his  supper  hour  was  so  near,  he  spread  his  great  black 
wings,  and  scornfully  cawing,  soared  away  toward 
the  Medford  marshes.  A  little  boy,  with  a  berry 
basket,  now  came  whistling  along.  He  spied  the  lion 
in  the  way,  and  not  having  the  discernment  of  the 
little  dog  or  the  crow,  was  panic-stricken,  and  drop- 
ping his  basket,  fled  back,  screaming  with  fright. 

Soon  after,  the  venerable  president  himself  was 
discovered  by  the  mischief-makers  in  the  bushes, 
approaching,  evidently  engaged  in  an  earnest  discus- 
sion with  himself,  a  thing  very  common  with  him  in 
his  solitary  walks.  And  when  thus  engaged,  his 
gait  became  very  singular,  the  argument  seeming  to 
settle  in  his  right  leg,  which  would  give  a  violent  shake 
at  each  step,  almost  sufficient,  when  he  was  especially 
earnest,  to  dislocate  the  knee.  As  he  approached,  at 
this  time,  he  seemed  very  much  as  if  stepping  on  hot 
iron,  with  bare  feet.  Leg  oratory  is  sometimes  the 
most  effective  kind,  though  not  the  most  refined  nor 
pacific.  I  have  been  so  struck  by  the  descriptions 
of  the  pedal  rhetoric  of  the  worthy  president  as  to  be 
induced  more  than  once  to  attempt  a  harmless  imita- 
tion in  the  endeavor  to  realize  its  effect.  And  I  wish 
the  reader  would  now  lay  aside  the  book  for  a  moment 
and  try,  for  his  own  satisfaction,  to  imitate  the  step. 
.  ..  .  There,  now,  do  you  not  find  it  rather  an 
eloquent  kind  of  delivery  ? 


454  v-       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

On  the  occasion  under  notice,  the  good  president 
was  so  earnest  in  his  endeavor  to  persuade  himself 
of  something  seemingly  incredible,  that  the  watching 
students  began  to  fear  that  he  would  stride  by  the 
coiled  serpent  without  casting  his  eye  to  the  ground  at 
all.  "  Dunster,"  he  exclaimed,  "  thou  art  a  manifest 
fool.  What  flip  hast  thou  drunken  thus  to  take  away 
thy  senses  ?  O,  yes,  thou  canst  make  plausible  ex- 
cuses for  the  follies  and  the  wickednesses  of  youth, 
but  I  tell  thee  thy  excuses  are  frivolous,  driveling, 
and" —  Just  at  that  moment  his  foot  struck  the 
berry-basket  which  the  boy  had  dropped  in  his  flight. 
He  raised  it  on  the  end  of  his  staff,  and  twirled  it 
above  his  head,  entirely  unconscious  of  the  exercise, 
in  his  abstraction.  But  down  went  the  basket,  and 
his  eye  happened  to  follow  it  to  the  ground.  The 
snake  was  just  at  his  feet,  and  a  violent  twitch  of  the 
string  raised  the  ugly  head  from  the  coils,  and  started 
the  whole  hideous  length.  And  then  — 

Leaping  high  in  the  air  and  uttering  a  terrifically 
profane  ejaculation,  in  Latin,  the  appalled  dignitary 
knew  nothing  more  till  he  found  himself  prone  upon 
the  earth  with  a  couple  of  alarmed  students  minister- 
ing to  him.  He  had  received  a  grievous  sprain,  and 
was  unable  to  rise. 

This  was  a  serious  matter.  The  thoughtless  youth, 
who  really  had  not  a  spark  of  malice  in  their  hearts, 
had  sprung  forward  to  his  relief,  and  now  ingenuously 
acknowledged  the  whole  truth,  instead  of  doing  as 
less  hcfnest  boys  might  have  done ;  that  is,  whip 
the  snake  into  the  bushes  and  pretend  that  he  had 
escaped  and  that  they  by  accident  happened  along  at 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  455 

that  juncture.  There  was  candor  among  the  Harvard 
youth  of  those  days.  The  injury  turned  out  to  be 
dangerous  as  well  as  painful ;  and  though  the  sufferer 
was  soon  on  the  mending  hand,  he  was  for  some 
months  compelled  to  avail  himself  of  the  services  of  a 
wooden  assistant  in  getting  about.  On  extraordinary 
occasions,  it  was  delightful  to  see  the  tender  care 
of  the  repentant  authors  of  the  mischief,  who  would 
support  him  on  either  side,  he  throwing  his  arms 
around  their  necks  and  swinging  between  them  — 
they  being  tall,  stout  fellows  and  he  rather  diminu- 
tive —  his  feet  two  or  three  inches  above  the  ground 
and  paddling  back  and  forth  as  if  he  fancied  himself 
aiding  in  the  locomotion.  And  when,  after  his  long 
period  of  suffering  he  did  call  himself  well,  his  ancient 
peculiarity  of  gait  had  ceased  forever ;  there  were  no 
more  kangaroo  leaps,  and  a  decided  down-stair  step 
had  succeeded  the  up-stair. 

The  impartial  reader,  I  am  sure,  will  exclaim  that 
those  roguish  students,  even  if  their  real  intent  was 
merely  to  perpetrate  a  harmless  joke,  well  deserved  a 
severe  flagellation,  as  a  preventive  of  future  heedless- 
ness.  And  it  is  agreeable  to  add  that  they  got  it. 
There  was,  indeed,  friendly  intercession  in  their  be- 
half, but  they  manfully  claimed  the  expiatory  infliction, 
and  heroically  bared  their  backs  for  the  stripes.  The 
punishment  was  inflicted  in  broad  daylight  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  whole  college  galaxy  —  officers,  stu- 
dents, and  servants  —  besides  a  number  of  interested 
outsiders,  who  gathered  in  the  door-way  and  on  tip- 
toe peeked  in  at  the  windows.  The  chastisement 
was  applied  with  unction  enough  to  entirely  satisfy 


V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 


all  parties,  even  the  little  dog,   the   crow,  and   the 
berry-boy. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  above  incident  occurred 
at  about  the  time  of  the  remarkable  entrance  of  the 
devil,  in  the  shape  of  a  snake,  into  the  synod  convened 
at  Cambridge,  in  August,  1648,  an  event  that  created 
a  vast  deal  of  apprehension  and  discussion.  President 
Dunster,  it  is  presumed,  was  present  on  the  memora- 
ble occasion.  Winthrop  gives  the  account  in  such  a 
comprehensive  manner  that  the  reader  will  be  pleased 
with  having  his  words  quoted  :  "  The  synod  met  at 
Cambridge  by  adjournment.  Mr.  Allen  of  Dedham 
preached  out  of  Acts  15,  a  very  godly,  learned,  and 
particular  handling  of  near  all  the  doctrines  and  appli- 
cations concerning  that  subject  with  a  clear  discovery 
and  refutation  of  such  errors,  objections,  and  scruples 
as  had  been  raised  about  it  by  some  young  heads  in 
the  country.  It  fell  out  about  the  midst  of  his  sermon, 
there  came  a  snake  into  the  seat  where  many  of  the 
elders  sate  behind  the  preacher.  It  came  in  at  the 
door  where  people  stood  thick  upon  the  stairs.  Divers 
of  the  elders  shifted  from  it,  but  Mr.  Thomson,  one 
of  the  elders  of  Braintree,  (a  man  of  much  faith,)  trode 
upon  the  head  of  it,  and  so  held  it  with  his  foot  and 
staff  with  a  small  pair  of  grains,  until  it  was  killed. 
This  being  so  remarkable,  and  nothing  falling  out 
but  by  divine  providence,  it  is  out  of  doubt,  the  Lord 
discovered  somewhat  of  his  mind  in  it.  The  serpent 
is  the  devil  ;  the  synod  the  representative  of  the 
churches  of  Christ  in  New  England.  The  devil  had 
formerly  and  lately  attempted  their  disturbance  and 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  457 

dissolution  ;  but  their  faith  in  the  seed  of  the  woman 
overcame  him  and  crushed  his  head." 

This,  certainly,  savors  somewhat  of  theological 
conceit.  But  the  thing  was  plain  and  logical  enough 
in  the  minds  of  those  old  worthies  ;  just  as  even 
greater  absurdities  sometimes  appear  to  the  minds 
of  certain  reverential  wiseacres  in  this  enlightened 
age.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  the  confident 
Winthrop  himself,  could  he  return  and  survey  the 
present  moral  condition  of  "  Boston  and  vicinity," 
would  continue  to  insist,  with  much  earnestness,  that 
his  friend  Thomson  did  actually  kill  the  devil,  in 
August,  1648.  But  then  we  suppose  Winthrop  is  not 
to  be  charged  with  speaking  in  a  literal  sense.  Had 
the  evil  one  himself  actually  so  ventured  into  the 
inhospitable  synod,  he  would  probably  have  vanished 
when  the  death-grip  fell  upon  him,  rather  than  have 
suffered  himself  to  be  despatched  outright.  But  it  is 
a  hard  subject  to  reason  on.  And  we  can  only  add 
the  mournful  fact  that  the  devil  "  still  lives." 

In  the  stately  history  of  Harvard  College,  which  has 
long  been  before  the  world,  the  more  weighty  matters 
are  well  disposed  of;  but  it  is  never  to  be  assumed 
that  such  make  up  the  whole  of  a  history.  If  you 
write  the  biography  of  a  man  and  bring  to  view  only 
his  dignified  traits,  you  give  but  one  side  of  his 
character,  for  no  man  is  all  starch  and  buckram. 
And  it  is  the  same  with  other  things.  So,  bearing 
this  in  mind,  it  has  been  endeavored  in  these  pages 
to  give  a  glimpse  at  least  of  all  the  sides  of  the  differ- 
ent subjects  dwelt  upon,  however  angular  they  may  be. 
T  * 


458  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  of  this  day,  who  are  awed  by 
the  dignity  of  that  venerable  institution  of  learning, 
to  conceive  of  the  grotesque  scenes  and  singular 
artifices  to  which  it  was  compelled  to  resort  in  its 
early  struggles  for  existence.  But  the  faculty  always 
tried  to  keep  up  appearances,  for  which  they  are  to  be 
commended  rather  than  censured.  And  the  students 
always  maintained  their  character  for  frolicking,  for 
which  they  are  to  be  censured  rather  than  commend- 
ed. When  in  1644,  some  of  those  old  educational 
heroes  descended  to  the  most  artful  wire-pulling,  to 
induce  the  Court  to  levy  an  assessment  upon  every 
family  in  the  jurisdiction,  of  "one  peck  of  corne,  or 
\2d.  in  mony  or  othr  comodity,  to  be  sent  to  ye  treas- 
urer for  the  colledge,"  how  weakly  did  they  anticipate 
the  rich  bequests  that  in  after  years  would  fall  in 
golden  showers  upon  their  darling  institution. 

Even  as  late  as  1680,  the  College  —  after  sending 
forth  numerous  graduates  who  did  honor  to  them- 
selves and  their  country  —  was  by  no  means  in  a 
condition  to  put  on  airs.  A  couple  of  educated  pro- 
testant  Dutchmen,  named  Jaspar  Dunkers  and  Peter 
Sluyter,  visited  this  region  during  that  year,  and 
one  of  them  thus  speaks  of  the  College,  in  his 
journal : 

"  We  started  out  to  go  to  Cambridge,  lying  to  the 
northeast  of  Boston,  in  order  to  see  their  college  and 
printing  office.  We  left  about  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  were  set  across  the  river  at  Charles- 
town.  We  followed  the  road  which  we  supposed  was 
the  right  one,  but  went  full  half  an  hour  out  of  the 
way,  and  would  have  gone  still  further  had  not  a 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  459 

negro  who  met  us,  and  of  whom  we  inquired,  disa- 
bused us  of  our  mistake.  We  went  back  to  the  right 
road,  which  is  a  very  pleasant  one. 

"  We  reached  Cambridge  about  eight  o'clock.  It 
is  not  a  large  village,  and  the  houses  stand  very 
much  apart.  The  college  building  is  the  most  con- 
spicuous among  them.  We  went  to  it,  expecting  to 
find  something  curious,  as  it  is  the  only  college  or 
would-be  academy  of  the  protestants  in  all  America, 
but  we  found  ourselves  mistaken.  In  approaching 
the  house  we  neither  heard  nor  saw  any  thing  men- 
tionable  ;  but,  going  to  the  other  side  of  the  building, 
we  heard  noise  enough  in  an  upper  room  to  lead  my 
comrade  to  suppose  they  were  engaged  in  disputation. 
We  entered  and  went  up  stairs,  where  a  person  met 
us,  and  requested  us  to  walk  in,  which  we  did.  We 
found  there  eight  or  ten  young  fellows,  sitting  around, 
smoking  tobacco,  with  the  smoke  of  which  the  room 
was  so  full  that  you  could  hardly  see  ;  and  the  whole 
house  smelt  so  strong  of  it  that  when  I  was  going  up 
stairs  I  said  this  is  certainly  a  tavern.  We  excused 
ourselves  that  we  could  speak  English  only  a  little, 
but  understood  Dutch  and  French,  which  they  did 
not.  However,  we  spoke  as  well  as  we  could. 

"We  inquired  how  many  professors  there  were, 
and  they  replied  not  one  —  that  there  was  no  money 
to  support  one.  We  asked  how  many  students  there 
were.  They  said  at  first  thirty,  and  then  came  down 
to  twenty.  I  afterwards  understood  there  are  proba- 
bly not  ten." 

These  worthy  Hollanders  must  have  visited  the 
College  during  one  of  its  seasons  of  special  depression. 


460  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

It  had  such,  occasionally,  for  many  years  ;  and  then 
its  life  seemed  almost  run  out.  But  generally,  when 
it  appeared  near  its  last  gasp,  the  Court  came,  as  a 
skillful  doctor,  and  by  its  restorative  pecuniary  appli- 
cations, managed  to  preserve  life.  And  so  it  hob- 
bled along  to  better  days.  What  the  Dutch  visitor 
says  of  that  particular  time,  is  confirmed  by  Quincy's 
history. 

But  the  observant  old  traveler  continues:  "They 
could  hardly  speak  a  word  of  Latin,  so  that  my  com- 
rade could  not  converse  with  them.  They  took  us  to 
the  library,  where  there  was  nothing  particular.  We 
looked  over  it  a  little.  They  presented  us  with  a 
glass  of  wine.  This  is  all  we  ascertained  there.  The 
minister  of  the  place  goes  there  morning  and  evening 
to  make  prayer,  and  has  charge  over  them.  The 
students  have  tutors  and  masters. 

"  Our  visit  was  soon  over,  and  we  left  them  to  go 
and  look  at  the  land  about  there.  We  found  the 
place  beautifully  situated  on  a  large  plain  more  than 
eight  miles  square,  with  a  fine  stream  in  the  middle 
of  it  capable  of  bearing  heavily  laden  vessels.  As 
regards  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  we  consider  the  poor- 
est in  New  York  superior  to  the  best  here.  As  we 
were  tired,  we  took  a  mouthful  to  eat  and  left. 

"  We  passed  by  the  printing  office,  but  there  was 
nobody  in  it.  The  paper  sash,  however,  being  broken, 
we  looked  in  and  saw  two  presses  with  six  or  eight 
cases  of  type.  There  is  not  much  work  done  there. 
Our  printing  office  is  well  worth  two  of  it,  and  even 
more.  We  went  back  to  Charlestown,  where,  after 
waiting  a  little,  we  crossed  over  about  three  o'clock." 


SCHOOL  OPENS.  461 

That  these  honest  Dutchmen  were  from  New  York, 
is  apparent  from  what  the  journalist  says  of  the  soil 
and  of  "  our  printing  office." 

A  few  words  ought,  perhaps,  to  have  been  said 
before,  about  the  Printing  Office  at  Cambridge,  for 
its  interests  were  intimately  connected  with  those 
of  the  College,  and  its  influence  in  the  cause  of  piety 
and  the  progress  of  education,  was  counted  on  as  of 
the  greatest  importance.  It  was  established  in  1639, 
by  Stephen  Day,  an  individual  of  rather  superstitious 
turn  of  mind,  and  at  times  much  disturbed  by  the 
growing  apprehensions  in  the  community  concerning 
witchcrafts.  And  it  was,  perhaps,  with  a  view  to  do 
his  part  in  the  approaching  direct  conflict  with  the 
powers  of  darkness,  as  much  as  from  any  other  con- 
sideration, that  he  was  induced  so  readily  to  engage 
in  the  doubtful  enterprise.  And  proba"bly  he  did  his 
full  share  in  staving  off  the  outbreak  for  the  time 
being,  as  well  as  his  share  in  fixing  in  the  popular 
mind  the  firm  belief  that  the  evil  day  must  sooner  or 
later  come. 

At  the  very  outset  of  his  operations  the  worthy 
printer  met  with  a  distressing  disaster.  He  had  been 
hard  at  work  all  day,  distributing  his  letter  in  the 
cases,  and  putting  his  press  in  order,  a  neighbor  or 
two,  kind  enough  in  disposition,  though  aukward  in 
the  handling  of  printing  materials,  voluntarily  assist- 
ing him.  And  as  it  began  to  grow  dark,  he  slipped 
on  his  outer  garment  and  started  for  home,  which 
was  a  long  way  off,  and  reached  by  a  rough,  stump- 
studded  road.  He  was  a  pious  man,  and  as  he 


462  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

plodded  along,  began  to  think  over  a  list  of  godly 
books  that  he  would  from  time  to  time  print  and 
circulate  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  arch  enemy.  A 
tradition,  by  the  way,  has  existed  from  the  earliest 
ages  of  the  art  typographic,  that  the  devil  takes 
special  care  to  watch  the  transactions  in  printing 
offices  ;  and  one  of  his  imps  —  at  least  one  bearing 
his  name  —  is  still  to  be  found  in  the  precincts  of 
every  office.  And  judging  by  what  emanates  from 
some  of  the  establishments  now  flourishing  on  the 
soil  once  trod  by  puritanic  feet,  his  brimstone  majesty 
not  only  watches  but  occasionally  controls.  Mr.  Day's 
reflections,  as  he  proceeded  along  his  weary  way, 
though  in  rather  an  exultant  vein,  were  not  unmin- 
gled  with  obscure  apprehensions  that  his  precious 
materials  might  be  molested  or  his  more  precious 
self  assailed. 

He  reached  home  hungry  and  tired,  and  after  par- 
taking of  a  good  supper  of  rabbet-meat,  eggs,  onions, 
and  artichokes,  retired  to  his  welcome  bed  of  husks,  in 
the  little  upper  room  over  which  the  unsealed  roof 
picturesquely  sloped.  He  slept  a  disturbed  sleep,  as 
over-weary  persons  are  apt  to,  especially  if  they  have 
overladen  their  stomachs  with  hard  artichokes ;  and 
about  midnight  was  very  much  alarmed  by  scratch- 
ings,  patterings,  and  knockings  upon  the  roof.  Then 
he  heard  a  lusty  breeze,  that  seemed  to  sweep  every 
thing  before  it,  rocking  and  thumping  the  house  in 
a  desperate  manner,  and  then  sighing  and  groaning 
as  if  because  it  could  not  do  more  mischief.  Then 
there  came  thunder  and  lightning  and  screeching  in 
the  air. 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  463 

Cold  sweat  stood  upon  the  poor  man's  brow,  as  he 
ventured  now  and  then  to  pop  his  head  from  under 
the  rigid  bed-cover  that  almost  smothered  him.  He 
felt  sure  that  a  host  of  satan's  emissaries  had  found 
him  out,  and  were  determined  to  try  their  best  to 
extinguish  him  before  he  could  even  put  in  motion 
his  enginery  for  the  subversion  of  their  power.  The 
most  horrible  apprehensions  seized  him,  as  a  blue  flash 
played  around  the  unhewn  rafters  above  his  pallet, 
followed  by  a  portentous  lull,  and  then  a  crowing  and 
laughing  as  if  a  hundred  jolly  fiends  were  making 
merry  over  him,  their  helpless  victim. 

Whether  he  finally  fainted  from  fright,  or  passed 
from  some  other  cause  into  an  entirely  oblivious 
condition,  cannot  be  known  ;  but  he  realized  nothing 
further  till  broad  daylight.  His  spirits  revived  when 
he  found  that  he  had  not  been  mauled  to  death.  And 
when  a  thorough  examination  of  all  his  visible  parts 
revealed  no  evidence  that  satanic  hands  had  been  laid 
upon  him,  he  felt  relieved  from  an  almost  crush- 
ing weight.  He  arose,  looked  at  the  cheerful  sun, 
and  swallowed  a  raw  goose  egg,  which  was  his  daily 
appetizer.  Then,  after  performing  sundry  domestic 
duties,  he  partook  of  his  morning  meal ;  after  which 
he  immediately  started  for  his  office.  On  his  way  he 
met  the  president  of  the  college,  and  related  to  him 
the  experiences  of  the  night.  That  dignitary  listened 
with  fear  and  trembling  ;  and  when  the  narrative  was 
concluded  intimated  a  gathering  conviction  that  the 
descent  of  evil  spirits  which  had  been  so  long  threat- 
ened was  about  taking  place.  And  he  expressed  an 
earnest  hope  that  if  the  fiends  had  been  sporting  with 


464  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

him,  they  had  left  unmolested  the  precious  printing 
materials.  Mr.  Day's  heart  sank  at  the  bare  sugges- 
tion that  the  scene  of  his  labors  of  the  previous  day 
might  have  been  invaded  by  such  unholy  marauders. 
And  in  considerable  trepidation  he  hurried  on. 

And  what  a  sight  met  his  view  when  he  arrived 
at  his  office.  Every  thing  bore  the  mark  of  demon- 
iacal ravaging.  One  of  the  little  windows  had  been 
completely  torn  out,  and  there  were  burnt  marks 
upon  the  sill,  as  if  infernal  fingers  had  clutched  there 
as  their  owners  sprang  in  or  out.  Two  of  the  type 
cases  had  been  thrown  across  the  room  and  their 
contents  scattered  broadcast  about  the  floor.  In  one 
corner  was  a  heap  of  melted  letter,  the  now  useless 
remains  of  about  half  his  stock  of  type.  The  little 
triangular  fireplace  was  torn  all  to  pieces,  as  if  a  host 
of  reckless  spirits  had  made  the  chimney  their  way 
of  nightly  travel.  His  principal  chase,  of  wrought 
iron,  so  stout  that  a  printer  of  this  day  would  smile 
at  its  clumsiness,  was  bent  and  twisted  so  that  it 
could  never  be  made  true  again.  And  the  heavy 
bed-stone  of  the  press  had  been  raised  from  the 
position  in  which,  with  the  neighborly  assistance  of  a 
butcher  and  a  chandler,  he  had  so  carefully  placed  it 
the  preceding  afternoon,  and  dashed  through  the 
floor  into  the  cellar.  The  ink-keg  had  been  burst 
asunder  and  its  contents  made  use  of  for  a  general 
besmearing. 

Much  of  the  mischief,  it  was  apparent,  could  not 
have  been  done  by  mortal  hands.  And  by  whom, 
then,  could  it  have  been  done,  save  by  supernatural 
invaders.  He  searched  in  vain  for  his  sheep's-foot, 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  465 

that  most  useful  of  printing-house  implements  ;  and 
its  disappearance  added  greatly  to  his  dismay,  for,  as 
it  represented  a  cloven  foot,  he  could  not  avoid  in 
some  way  connecting  it  with  the  supernatural  gentry 
whose  pedal  extremities  are  of  like  fashion. 

Mr.  Day  sat  down,  disheartened,  on  his  one  little 
pine  bank  which  a  friendly  carpenter  had  gratuitously 
contributed  to  his  fitting  out,  and  mournfully  contem- 
plated the  wreck  of  his  matter  and  the  ruin  of  his 
hopes.  But  he  was  a  man  of  rather  sanguine  temper- 
ament, and  soon  began  to  recover  from  his  despond- 
ency. The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  set  about 
restoring  his  office  to  the  best  order  possible  under 
the  circumstances.  And  as  active  employment  is 
the  surest  remedy  for  low  spirits,  he  soon  became 
so  cheerful  as  to  attempt  whistling  a  nimble  tune. 

Having  done  what  he  could  at  the  office,  he  made 
up  his  mind  that  the  next  best  thing  was  to  set  about 
the  discovery  of  the  particular  human  agency  through 
which  the  infernal  mischief  had  been  wrought ;  for 
there  was  always  in  such  cases  an  undefined  idea  that 
some  malignant  wretch  had  charge  of  the  operations. 
To  this  end  he  sought  a  conference  with  the  college 
authorities,  the  civil  magistrates,  and  such  members 
of  the  General  Court  as  he  could  find  in  the  precinct. 
He  related  all  that  he  knew  and  much  that  he  imag- 
ined touching  the  enmities  of  his  neighbors  ;  for,  like 
most  people  who  have  had  their  fears  strongly  excited, 
he  was  unable  to  distinguish  between  fact  and  fancy. 
And  after  solemn  deliberation  it  was  considered  best 
to  employ  the  approved  means  for  the  discovery  of 
witches.  Accordingly  he  had  his  witch-cake  made, 
T*  30 


466  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

the  adder's-tongue,  toad's-stool,  blind-worm,  and  all 
other  ingredients  well  stirred  by  the  witch-hazel  rod, 
and  baked  bottom  up,  at  the  top  of  the  oven.  And 
then,  through  the  agency  of  the  old  Indian  woman 
who  traveled  about  the  settlements,  selling  herbs 
and  eye-water,  the  sacramental  witch-bread  was  duly 
administered. 

The  lot  fell  just  where  he  expected  it  would  —  upon 
an  old  woman  in  the  family  of  a  fellow-townsman. 
She  was  from  Barbadoes,  that  land  of  abominations, 
was  poor,  and  lame,  and  of  rather  irascible  disposition, 
but  not  before  suspected  of  entertaining  any  diabol- 
ical designs  towards  him  or  any  one  else.  It  was 
recollected,  however,  that  she  had  made  some  pun- 
gent threats,  on  the  occasion  of  a  quarrel  he  had  with 
her  about  the  uncivil  conduct  of  a  goat  that  belonged 
to  her,  and  on  which  her  affections  were  centered,  it 
being  the  most  valuable  of  all  her  earthly  possessions. 
But  that  quarrel  was  a  long  time  before  ;  and  it  was 
supposed  that  time  had  obliterated  all  feeling  of 
resentment  The  difficulty  arose  in  this  way :  the 
goat  was  one  day  browsing  on  some  bushes,  by  the 
river,  where  Mr.  Day  was  bathing,  and  seeing  his 
little  heap  of  clothes,  after  smelling  of  them,  gave  a 
vigorous  bleat,  and  seizing  the  leather  small-clothes, 
ran  up  the  bank,  and  trotted  down  the  lane  toward 
the  house  of  its  mistress. 

What  possessed  Nanny  to  indulge  in  such  an  im- 
polite and  unnatural  freak,  it  is  impossible  to  tell. 
But  it  put  Mr.  Day  to  great  inconvenience,  not  to  say 
mortification,  he  being  a  remarkably  modest  man. 
In  his  anger  he  charged  her  with  having  trained  the 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  467 

goat  to  purloin  for  her  benefit.  To  this  she  replied, 
with  rising  asperity,  that  if  such  were  the  case  she 
should  have  taught  it  to  bring  home  something  of 
more  value  than  his  old  leather  breeches.  The  dis- 
pute became  fierce,  but  finally  ceased  without  any 
personal  violence.  And  the  remembrance  had  nearly 
faded  out. 

Mr.  Day  was  much  alarmed  when  the  test  so  uner- 
ringly pointed  to  this  poor  old  woman  as  the  contriver 
of  the  mischief  at  the  printing  office.  But  neither 
he,  nor  the  magistrates,  nor  any  one  else,  thought  of 
questioning  the  virtue  of  the  test.  The  excitement 
ran  very  high,  and  spread  like  wild-fire.  The  forlorn 
old  dame  protested  her  innocence.  But  what  of  that. 
Is  not  that  the  way  with  culprits  ?  An  informal 
examination,  however,  was  granted,  to  be  held  in  the 
college  hall.  An  excited  concourse  attended ;  and 
conspicuous  among  them  was  Mr.  Day,  in  his  shirt 
sleeves  and  the  little  brown  paper  cap,  that  he  wore 
at  his  work,  for  he  had  left  his  office  in  haste  and  in 
a  frustrated  condition  of  mind.  Some  of  the  college 
people  talked  learnedly  about  witchcraft ;  others  pi- 
ously ;  others  alarmingly ;  and  others  despairingly. 
Every  suspicious  thing  touching  the  accused  was 
reviewed  —  the  conduct  of  the  goat,  the  quarrel,  the 
making  of  the  cake  —  nothing,  indeed,  which  could, 
even  in  the  remotest  manner,  compromise  her,  being 
forgotten.  And  as  the  tide  was  setting  strongly 
against  her,  the  few  who  had  made  some  pretence 
of  being  her  friends  began  rapidly  to  fall  off —  those 
who  had  professed  the  most  sympathy,  denying,  with 
the  energy  of  a  Peter,  that  they  had  ever  known 


468  V.      EDUCATIONAL   GLIMMERINGS. 

her.  She  wept ;  but  that  did  no  good  further  than 
partially  relieve  her  over-burdened  heart. 

Thus  matters  stood,  when  some  commotion  was 
caused  by  the  stalking  in  of  Arrow  John,  holding 
Sunny  Wave  by  the  hand.  They  had  come  down  to 
the  settlement  on  an  errand  to  the  accused,  to  whom 
they  felt  indebted  for  many  a  refreshing  draught  of 
milk  which  that  same  offending  goat  had  dispensed  ; 
and  being  told  where  she  was,  had  made  their  way 
into  the  hall.  The  slight  interruption  was  soon  over, 
and  the  semi-judicial  proceedings  renewed.  The  In- 
dians gave  the  closest  attention,  apparently  endeavor- 
ing to  comprehend  the  nature  of  the  business,  an 
occasional  expressive  grunt  from  the  father,  only,  pre- 
venting their  presence  from  being  overlooked  in  their 
silence.  But  it  was  not  long  before  the  red  man 
began  to  manifest  considerable  excitement,  at  least 
for  an  Indian.  And  when  opportunity  offered,  he 
arose,  with  all  the  dignity  of  his  race,  and  throwing  his 
arms  aloft,  as  if  invoking  an  unseen  power,  exclaimed  : 
"  O,  white  men  !  Last  night  the  Great  Spirit  was 
abroad  lighting  his  path  by  the  lightning  flash,  and 
speaking  to  his  children  in  his  thunder  voice.  He 
passed  by  my  lodge,  tearing  from  the  earth  a  giant 
pine,  that  stood  in  his  way,  shivering  the  huge  trunk 
into  many  pieces  and  scattering  the  limbs  far  abroad. 
Nothing  can  stop  back  his  march,  when  he  comes  in 
his  lightning  blaze  and  thunder  tramp.  May  be  the 
white  man's  poor  little  make-um-book  trap,  stood  in 
his  way,  and  so  he  brush  um  off." 

Had  the  most  exultant  thunder-clap  that  disturbed 
the  peace  of  nature  during  the  previous  night,  returned 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  469 

and  burst  over  their  heads  again  in  full  force,  they 
would  not  have  been  more  suddenly  and  thoroughly 
waked.  It  instantly  occurred  to  every  mind  that  the 
havoc  in  the  printing  office  was  caused  by  the  light- 
ning—  of  the  nature  of  which,  however,  they  knew 
as  little  as  they  did  of  witchcraft,  for  the  great  seer 
of  the  typographic  art,  who  has  received  the  name 
of  lightning-tamer,  had  not  then  electrified  the  world 
by  his  discoveries.  Mr.  Day  may  indeed  have  been 
as  good  a  printer  as  Franklin,  and  done  as  much  for 
the  art  in  America ;  but  it  is  evident  that  he  fell 
something  short  of  him  as  a  philosopher. 

When  the  bubble  broke  in  the  assembly,  they  all 
felt  ashamed  of  themselves  and  of  each  other  ;  asham- 
ed that  they  had  not  remembered  that  lightning  could 
do  up  a  work  of  mischief  as  suddenly  and  effectually 
as  witchcraft ;  ashamed  that  they  were  indebted  to  a 
tawny  barbarian  for  the  key  that  opened  their  own 
eyes.  Mr.  Day,  who  was  really  a  good  hearted  man, 
though,  as  has  before  appeared,  of  rather  a  supersti- 
tious turn,  was  so  rejoiced  to  be  relieved  from  the 
dread  suspicion  that  he  was  under  the  surveillance  of 
malignant  spirits,  that  his  elevation  knew  no  bounds. 
Up  he  jumped,  and  danced  about  as  if  beside  himself. 
The  little  paper  cap  shook  from  his  head,  and  his 
feet  relieved  themselves  from  imprisonment  in  his 
ponderous  shoes.  He  caught  Sunny  Wave  from  the 
side  of  her  father,  raised  her  in  his  arms,  and  before 
he  or  she  knew  what  was  to  come  next,  had  bestowed 
on  her  glossy  brown  cheeks  half  a  score  of  unctuous 
kisses.  Dropping  her,  he  seized  her  father  and  twirled 
him  merrily  around,  till  he,  not  appreciating  such 


47O  V.      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

familiarity,  delivered  on  his  bare  pate  divers  sound 
knocks,  with  his  great  knobby  pipe.  That  seemed  to 
restore  his  senses. 

Without  further  befooling  himself,  Mr.  Day  with 
a  nervous  flourish  approached  the  astonished  magis- 
trate, and  besought  him  to  utter  something  appro- 
priate to  the  occasion  —  to  make  an  improvement,  as 
the  phrase  then  ran.  The  official  readily  complied, 
and  delivered  himself  in  well-set  terms  of  a  grave 
and  pious  discourse  about  thunder  and  lightning, 
witchcraft,  merciful  providences,  and  kindred  topics. 
His  eye,  while  speaking,  was  frequently  directed 
toward  Arrow  John.  And  when  he  had  finished, 
that  stately  son  of  the  forest,  deeming  himself  called 
upon  to  reply,  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  and 
thrusting  out  his  dexter  arm  with  the  fore-finger 
pointing  toward  Mr.  Day,  in  a  deep,  measured  voice, 
began  :  "  White  men  say  Injan  know  nothing.  But 
white  men  dam  fool ;  not  know  tother  from  nothing. 
White  man  say,  book  tell  um  every  thing.  Injan  no 
have  book,  so  he  know  nothing,  white  man  think.  All 
clam  lie.  There  stand  Make-um-book,  [still  pointing 
to  Mr.  Day,]  he  dam  crazy  ;  don't  know  much  as  old 
squaw.  Ugh !  Injan  learn  from  Great  Spirit.  He 
talk  to  his  red  children  out  of  cloud,  in  thunder,  in 
storm,  in  rushing  water ;  he  whisper  to  um  in  trees, 
in  little  brook ;  and  smile  on  um  in  flowers,  in  sun- 
shine. Injan  learn  most.  Ugh!  No  swear,  no  swear  !" 
And  having  delivered  himself  of  this  touching  piece 
of  native  eloquence,  he  dropped  his  arm,  and  seizing 
Sunny  Wave  by  the  hand  strode  proudly  off. 

A  thorough   examination  left   no  doubt  that  the 


SCHOOL   OPENS.  471 

lightning  was  the  instrument  of  the  mischief.  And 
from  that  time  forth,  the  good  people  began  to  be  as 
much  in  dread  of  lightning  as  of  witchcraft.  Indeed, 
in  the  minds  of  many  there  was  a  mysterious  rela- 
tionship between  them. 

It  should,  perhaps,  be  added  in  this  connection, 
that  the  damage  to  Mr.  Day's  office  was  repaired  as 
speedily  as  possible,  and  in  due  time  there  issued 
from  the  infant  press  the  "  Freeman's  Oath,"  which 
has  ever  since  been  claimed  to  be  the  first  specimen 
of  American  printing.  The  Court  regarded  with 
much  favor  the  enterprise,  and  a  year  or  two  after, 
that  is,  on  the  loth  of  December,  1641,  passed  this 
order :  "  Stephen  Day  being  the  first  that  set  upon 
printing,  is  graunted  300  acres  of  land  where  it  may 
bee  convenient  wthout  prejudice  to  any  towne."  And 
again,  on  the  I5th  of  May,  1657,  in  another  fit  of 
generosity,  the  Court  made  this  further  grant :  "  Ste- 
ven Day,  of  Cambridg,  having  often  complajned  that 
he  hath  suffered  much  damage  by  erecting  the  print- 
ing press  at  Cambridge,  at  the  request  of  the  magis- 
trates and  elders,  for  W*  he  neuer  had  yett  any 
considerable  sattisfaction,  this  Court  doe  graunt  him 
three  hundred  acres  of  land  in  any  place  not  formerly 
granted  by  this  Court." 

Of  the  press  in  general,  in  early  times — its  freedom, 
its  obstreperousness,  and  the  indignities  and  disabili- 
ties cast  upon  it  —  a  good  deal  that  is  interesting 
might  be  said,  though  the  Court  Records  do  not 
furnish  much  that  is  really  of  importance. 

A  sort  of  censorship  was  established  on  the  8th  of 
October,  1662,  in  these  words :  "  For  prevention  of 


472  V.       EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

irregularitjes  and  abuse  to  the  authority  of  this  coun- 
try by  the  printing  presse,  it  is  ordered,  that  hence- 
forth no  copie  shall  be  printed  but  by  the  allowance 
first  had  and  obteined  vnder  the  hands  of  Capt.  Daniel 
Gookin  &  Mr  Jonathan  Mitchel,  vntil  this  Court  shall 
take  further  order  therein."  This,  however,  was  soon 
repealed. 

In  1 68 1,  something  like  a  local  monopoly  in  the 
printing  business  was  granted,  Samuel  Seawall  being 
"  prevajled  with  to  vndertake  the  mannagement  of  the 
printing  press  in  Boston,  late  vnder  the  improvement 
of  Mr  John  Foster,  deceased ; "  the  Court  forbidding 
that  any  one  else  should  establish  an  office  without 
their  permission  "  first  graunted." 

A  kind  of  loose  copyright  law  was  enacted  on  the 
1 5th  of  May,  1672,  in  these  words  :  "  In  ansr  to  the 
petition  of  John  Vsher,  the  Court  judgeth  it  meete  to 
order,  &  be  it  by  this  Court  ordered  &  enacted,  that 
no  printer  shall  print  any  more  coppies  than  are 
agreed  &  pajd  for  by  the  ouner  of  the  sajd  coppie  or 
coppies,  nor  shall  he  nor  any  other  reprint  or  make 
sale  of  any  of  the  same,  wthout  the  sajd  owners  con- 
sent, vpon  the  forfeiture  and  poenalty  of  treble  the 
whole  charges  of  printing,  &  paper,  &c.,  of  the  whole 
quantity  pajd  for  by  the  ouner  of  the  coppie,  to  the 
sajd  ouner  or  his  assignes." 

In  closing  this  Chapter,  we  may  well  take  a  moment 
to  consider  what  excellent  progress  the  cherished 
College  —  of  whose  infantile  struggles  we  have  given 
so  brief  an  account  —  has,  on  the  whole,  made,  to 
attain,  in  so  comparatively  short  a  period,  her  present 


SCHOOL    OPENS.  473 

opulent  and  honorable  position.  But  she  always  had 
firm  and  influential  friends  ;  and  her  loving  children, 
as  they  went  forth  into  the  world,  ceased  not  to  speak 
her  praise.  The  General  Court  always  loved  and 
favored  her  as  the  child  of  its  own  bosom,  and  like  a 
kind  parent  never  allowed  her  little  derelictions  to 
breed  an  estrangement.  And  who,  now,  comprehend- 
ing the  elevating  influence  she  has  had  on  New  Eng- 
land mind,  moulding  its  institutions  to  the  forms  in 
which  they  now  appear,  can  doubt  that  the  affection 
and  care  were  well  bestowed.  During  the  changeful 
years  of  her  existence,  she  has  shed  forth  a  guiding 
light,  such  as  entitles  her  to  the  highest  respect,  even 
to  veneration. 

And  then,  look  at  that  forlorn  little  Printing  Office. 
Though  its  own  inherent  light  was  not  very  brilliant, 
it  yet  was  an  illuminating  germ  from  which  has  spread 
a  flame  to  brighten  and  vivify  the  whole  land.  Could 
the  amiable  Mr.  Day  revisit  the  scene  of  his  activity, 
could  he  step  into  the  present  University  office,  or 
the  Riverside,  and  behold  the  untold  variety  and 
exhaustless  quantity  of  elegantly  formed  type,  the 
swift-moving  pressess  of  such  ponderous  dimensions, 
hear  the  hissing  of  steam  and  the  rapid  click  of  iron 
hands,  his  old  fears  of  witchcraft  might  well  return 
and  send  him  back  in  terror  to  his  grave. 

From  what  has  been  said  of  the  early  struggles  of 
the  great  Educational  Interest  in  general,  something, 
perhaps,  may  be  learned,  or  some  feeling  aroused, 
that  may  lead  to  a  fuller  appreciation  of  the  benefits 
now  enjoyed.  It  was  a  most  worthy  conception  of 


474  v-      EDUCATIONAL    GLIMMERINGS. 

our  ancestors,  that  education  furnished  the  surest 
foundation  for  a  free  government,  as  well  as  the  surest 
safeguard  against  the  wiles  of  the  "  old  deluder." 
But  as  in  morals  repentance  is  of  little  value  without 
amendment,  so  here,  the  theory  would  have  been  of 
little  value  had  they  not  taken  measures  to  give  it 
practical  demonstration.  They  did  put  their  humble 
machinery  in  operation,  with  diligence  and  prayer- 
fulness. 

We  see  to  what  a  sturdy  growth  the  noble  tree 
they  planted  has  now  attained,  and  what  excellent 
fruit  it  bears.  And  the  best  way  in  which  we  can 
show  our  gratitude  is  to  see  that  it  be  sedulously 
guarded  and  nurtured,  that  it  may  remain  in  vigorous 
growth  forever. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


ASSORTED  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


brief  Chapter  will  comprise  a  few  extracts 
JL  from  the  records  of  the  Court,  during  its  earlier 
years,  which  seem  calculated  to  give  some  idea  of 
the  legislation  of  that  period  —  its  simplicity,  direct- 
ness, and  honesty.  These  extracts  are  given  as  they 
appear  there  —  in  the  form  of  orders,  recitals,  or  in- 
ducements. One  object,  also,  had  in  view,  is  to 
exhibit  the  singular  modes  of  punishment  sometimes 
applied,  especially  to  minor  offences.  And  they  will 
necessarily  be  introduced  with  little  or  no  note  or 
comment,  excepting  in  the  concluding  instance.  On 
the  weighty  matters  of  the  Antinomian  controversies, 
the  Quaker  persecutions,  and  similar  topics,  nothing 
is  demanded  in  a  volume  of  this  scope. 

The  general  condition  of  a  community  may,  per- 
haps, be  more  correctly  judged  of  by  the  doings  of  its 
representative  convocation  than  by  any  other  means  ; 
for  the  representatives  come  fresh  from  the  various 
strata  of  the  people,  and  know  their  wants  and  their 
aims.  It  has  not  been  attempted  to  preserve  chro- 
nological order  in  introducing  the  extracts,  as  that 
would  have  resulted  in  confusion  of  subjects.  Dates, 
(475) 


4/6  VI.      ASSORTED    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

however,  have  been  carefully  given.  A  few  of  the 
extracts  are  from  the  records  of  the  Court  of  Assist- 
ants ;  and  that  being  the  major  branch  of  the  General 
Court,  it  was  not  thought  necessary  specially  to  desig- 
nate them.  For  convenience,  the  abbreviations,  as 
they  appear  in  the  records,  will,  in  these  few  extracts, 
be  generally  avoided. 

INFANT  BAPTISM  —  MAGISTRATIC  AUTHORITY,  ETC. 
"  It  is  ordered  and  agreed,  that  if  any  person  or  persons  within  this 
jurisdiction  shall  either  openly  condemne  or  oppose  the  baptizing 
of  infants,  or  go  about  secretly  to  seduce  others  from  the  approbation 
or  use  thereof,  or  shall  purposely  depart  the  congregation  at  the 
administration  of  the  ordinance,  or  shall  deny  the  ordinance  of  magis- 
tracy, or  their  lawful  right  or  authority  to  make  warr,  or  to  punish  the 
outward  breaches  of  the  first  table,  and  shall  appear  to  the  Court 
wilfully  and  obstinately  to  continue  therein  after  due  time  and  meanes 
of  conviction,  every  such  person  or  persons  shall  be  sentenced  to  ban- 
ishment." [Nov.  13,  1644. 

SABBATH  BREAKING  —  THE  CAGE  —  EVIL  SPEAKING. 

"  And  for  the  better  putting  a  restraint  and  securing  offenders  that 
shall  any  way  transgress  against  the  lawes,  title  Saboath,  either  in  the 
meeting  house  by  abusive  carriage  or  misbehaviour,  by  making  any 
noyse  or  otherwise,  or  during  the  daytime,  being  laid  hold  on  by  any 
of  the  inhabitants,  shall,  by  the  said  person  appointed  to  inspect  this 
law,  be  forthwith  carried  forth  and  put  into  a  cage  in  Boston,  which  is 
appointed  to  be  forthwith  by  the  select  men,  to  be  set  up  in  the  market 
place  and  in  such  other  townes  as  the  County  Courts  shall  appoint, 
there  to  remain  till  authority  shall  examine  the  person  offending,  and 
giue  order  for  his  punishment,  as  the  matter  may  require,  according 
to  the  lawes  relating  to  the  Saboath."  [May  14,  1677. 

"  Mr.  Ambros  Marten,  for  calling  the  church  covenant  a  stinking 
carryon  and  a  humane  invention,  and  saying  he  wondered  at  Gods 
patience,  feared  it  would  end  in  the  sharpe,  and  said  the  ministers  did 
dethrone  Christ,  and  set  up  themselues ;  he  was  fined  io/.  and  coun- 
selled to  go  to  Mr.  Mather  and  bee  instructed  by  him."  [March 
13.  '639. 


ASSORTED    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4/7 

"  Robert  Shorthose  [of  Charlestown]  for  swearing  by  the  bloud  of 
God,  was  sentenced  to  have  his  tongue  put  in  a  cleft  stick,  and  to  stand 
so  by  the  space  of  halfe  an  houre."  [Sept.  6,  1636. 

"  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Thomas  Aplegate  [of  Weymouth]  was  cen- 
sured to  stand  with  her  tongue  in  a  cleft  stick,  for  swearing,  raileing, 
and  revileing."  [Sept  6,  1636. 

"  John  Smyth,  of  Meadford,  for  swearing,  being  penitent,  was  set  in 
the  bilboes."  [June  5,  1638. 

"  Whereas,  there  is  no  express  punishment  (by  any  lawe  heretofore 
established)  affixed  to  the  evill  practise  of  sundry  persons  by  exhorbi- 
tancy  of  the  tongue  in  rayling  and  scolding,  it  is  therefore  ordered, 
that  all  such  persons  convicted  before  any  court  or  magistrate  that 
hath  propper  cognizance  of  the  case,  for  rayling  or  scolding,  shall  be 
gagged  or  sett  in  a  ducking  stoole  and  dipt  over  head  and  eares  three 
times,  in  some  convenient  place  of  fresh  or  salt  water,  as  the  court  or 
magistrate  shall  judge  meete."  [May  15,  1672. 

CHRISTMAS. 

"  For  preventing  disorders  arising  in  seueral  places  within  this  juris- 
diction, by  reason  of  some  still  observing  such  ffestiualls  as  were  super- 
stitiously  kept  in  other  countrys,  to  the  great  dishonor  of  God,  and 
offence  of  others,  it  is  therefore  ordered,  by  this  Court  and  the  autho- 
rity thereof,  that  whoeuer  shall  be  found  observing  any  such  days  as 
Christmas  or  the  like,  either  by  forbearing  of  labour,  feasting,  or  any 
other  way,  vpon  any  such  accounts  as  aforesajd,  euery  such  person 
so  offending  shall  pay  for  euery  such  offence  five  shillings  as  a  fine 
to  the  county."  [May  n,  1659. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

"  It  is  ordered  that  Richard  Hopkins  shall  be  seurely  whipt  and 
branded  with  a  hott  iron  on  one  of  his  cheekes,  for  selling  peeces  and 
powder  and  shott  to  the  Indians."  [Sept.  4,  1632. 

"  Robert  Coles  is  fHned  x/.  and  enjoyned  to  stand  with  a  white  sheete 
of  paper  on  his  backe,  wherein  a  drunkard  shall  be  written  in  greate 
letters,  and  to  stand  therewith  soe  longe  as  the  Court  thinks  meete, 
for  abuseing  himselfe  shamefully  with  drinke,  inticeing  John  Shotswells 
wife  to  incontenancy  and  other  misdeanour."  [Sept  3,  1633. 


VI.      ASSORTED    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


"Edward  Woodley,  for  attempting  a  rape,  swearing  and  breaking 
into  a  house,  was  censured  to  be  severely  whiped  30  stripes,  a  yeares 
imprisonment,  and  kept  to  hard  labour  with  course  dyot,  and  to  weare 
a  coller  of  yron."  [Sept  6,  1636. 

"  Jane  Hawkins,  the  wife  of  Richard  Hawkins,  had  liberty  till  the 
beginning  of  the  third  month,  called  May,  and  the  magistrates  (if  shee 
did  not  depart  before)  to  dispose  of  her  ;  and  in  the  meane  time  shee 
is  not  to  meddle  in  surgery,  or  phisick,  drinks,  plaisters,  or  oyles,  nor 
to  question  matters  of  religion,  except  with  the  elders  for  satisfaction." 
[March  12,  1638. 

"  John  Kempe,  for  filthy,  vncleane  attempts  .  .  .  was  censured 
to  be  whiped  both  heare,  at  Roxberry,  and  at  Salem,  very  severely 
and  was  comitted  for  a  slave,  to  Lieft.  Davenport."  [Sept.  3,  1639. 

"  Thom  :  Knore  for  selling  a  pot  full  of  strong  water  without  license, 
was  fined  5^."  [Sept.  3,  1639. 

"  James  Luxford  for  his  forgery,  lying,  and  other  foul  offences,  was 
censured  to  bee  bound  to  the  whipping  poast  till  the  lecture  from  the 
first  bell,  and  after  the  lecture  to  have  his  eares  cut  off;  and  so  hee 
had  liberty  to  depart  out  of  our  iurisdiction."  [May  13,  1640. 

"  This  Court,  considering  how  farr  Sathan  doth  prevaile  vpon  seueral 
persons  within  this  jurisdiction  to  make  away  themselves,  judgeth  that 
God  calls  them  to  beare  testimony  against  such  wicked  and  vnnaturall 
practises,  that  others  may  be  deterred  therefrom,  doe  therefore  order, 
that  from  henceforth  if  any  person,  inhabitant  or  strainger,  shall  at  any 
time  be  found  by  any  jury  to  lay  violent  hands  on  themselves,  or  be 
wilfully  guilty  of  theire  oune  deaths  euery  such  person  shall  be  denjed 
the  priviledge  of  being  burjed  in  the  comon  burying  place  of  Chris- 
tians, but  shall  be  buried  in  some  comon  highway  where  the  selectmen 
of  the  toune  where  such  person  did  inhabit  shall  appoint,  and  a  cart 
loade  of  stones  layd  vpon  the  grave,  as  a  brand  of  infamy,  and  as  a 
warning  to  others  to  be  ware  of  the  like  damnable  practises."  [Oct. 
16,  1660. 

And  so  the  Court  sought  to  prevent  the  terrible 
crime  of  suicide,  by  denying  the  victim  Christian 
burial.  There  is  a  grim  mockery  in  this,  as  there  is 


ASSORTED    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4/9 

in  the  modern  practice  of  requiring  one  desperately 
bent  on  self-destruction  to  furnish  bonds  that  he  will 
not  commit  the  act ;  as  if  the  fearful  impulse  that 
impels  to  the  deed  could  be  controlled  by  such  means. 
It  has  been  long  contended  that  suicide  furnishes  the 
most  conclusive  evidence  of  the  superiority  of  the 
mind,  the  soul,  over  the  body,  and  of  its  ultimate 
separate  existence,  its  immortality  ;  for  in  the  awful 
act,  the  mind  wills  the  destruction  of  the  body,  and 
the  body  cannot  resist ;  nay,  it  is  even  compelled  to 
become  the  instrument  of  its  own  destruction.  But 
it  is  not  designed  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  so 
sorrowful  a  subject.  By  simply  relating  an  incident 
that  occurred  soon  after  the  foregoing  enactment,  we 
shall  .fulfill  our  purpose. 

Not  far  from  the  junction  of  Court  and  Hanover 
streets,  in  Boston,  was  a  spot  for  many  years  known 
as  a  suicide's  grave.  To  prevent  danger  from  a  heap 
of  stones  lying  in  the  highway,  the  earth  had  been 
removed  so  that  the  pile  lay  nearly  level  with  the 
surrounding  surface.  And  as  the  little  unhallowed 
spot  was  avoided  by  the  foot  of  the  traveler,  some 
thistles  and  one  or  two  plants  of  the  deadly  nightshade 
availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  lift  up  their 
noxious  heads.  Few  persons  passed  that  way  if 
they  could  well  pursue  their  errands  by  any  other 
road,  especially  after  nightfall.  Some  said  they  had 
repeatedly  seen  ugly  snakes  coiling  among  the  stones, 
who,  on  being  disturbed,  retreated  into  their  holes. 
Others  averred  that  on  stormy  nights  they  had  seen 
blue  lights  flickering  there,  and  heard  low  sounds 
of  distress.  And  all  agreed  that  a  strange,  gaunt 


48O  VI.      ASSORTED    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

dog,  would  sometimes,  on  a  wild  night,  come  and  seat 
himself  there,  with  dismal  howls  ;  and  finally,  after 
scratching  fiercely  among  the  stones,  slowly  retire, 
howling  as  he  went. 

But  who  was  the  unfortunate  one  buried  there  ? 
No  one  seemed  to  know,  exactly,  for  in  such  cases 
special  pains  were  taken  to  obliterate  all  knowledge 
even  of  the  name.  But  let  us  go  back  to  the  night 
of  the  burial,  a  night  dark  and  dismal  enough.  Four 
rough  fellows,  in  their  dirty  laboring  clothes,  two 
of  them  with  Indian  pipes  in  their  mouths,  smoking 
lustily,  came  up  the  road  with  a  rough  box  on  their 
shoulders,  preceded  by  a  fifth,  who  lighted  them  along 
by  the  lurid  glare  of  a  flaming  pine  knot  affixed  to  the 
end  of  a  long,  crooked  staff.  The  box  was  naile$  up 
tightly,  and  contained  the  frigid  remains  of  the  de- 
ceased. No  mourners  followed,  no  friends,  no  neigh- 
bors. None  were  there  but  those  coarse  men,  who 
now  and  then  broke  the  silence  by  the  utterance  of 
some  rude  jest  or  grating  laugh,  or  curse,  and  a  mis- 
erable dog,  who  followed  slowly  on  as  if  lured  by 
some  mysterious  fascination,  for  he  was  known  to 
none  of  the  company.  There  was  sighing,  indeed, 
but  it  was  that  of  the  wild  night  breeze  in  the  trees. 
And  deep  moaning  was  heard  ;  but  it  was  that  of  the 
surly  ocean  upon  the  dark  shore. 

The  grave  had  been  dug  during  the  day,  and  by  its 
side  they  found  the  intoxicated  digger,  glaring  idiot- 
ically about.  By  a  rope  they  lowered  the  coffin  into 
the  hole,  without  one  lingering  look  from  bereaved 
relative  or  friend.  No  tear  was  shed,  no  flowers 
strewn.  Then  the  stones  and  gravel  were  shoveled 


ASSORTED   ILLUSTRATIONS.  481 

down,  and  they  all  withdrew ;  all  save  the  strange 
dog  who  now  ventured  forward  and  seated  himself 
upon  the  lonely  grave  as  if  he  would  be  the  first 
watcher  there.  And  when  the  men  were  far  away 
they  heard  his  horrible  howls  mingling  with  the  sighs 
of  the  trees  and  the  ocean  moans. 

But  who  was  the  unfortunate  one  buried  there? 
it  is  asked  again.  Common  report  must  be  resorted 
to  for  an  answer  to  the  question.  And  that  declares 
that  it  was  a  woman,  a  woman,  once  pious,  intelligent, 
and  beautiful.  But  misfortune  early  marked  her  for 
its  own.  In  the  spring  time  of  life,  when  her  young 
heart  was  gay  as  the  mountain  bird,  her  tenderest 
and  most  confiding  affections  received  a  rude,  a  with- 
ering shock.  Next,  her  revered  parents  died,  some 
said  of  broken  hearts  ;  and  she  was  left  alone,  a  frail 
flower,  shivering  in  the  unpitying  blast  of  a  selfish 
and  vicious  world,  her  virtue  sacrificed,  her  peace 
departed.  But  again  her  native  principles  of  rectitude 
burst  through  the  iron  bands,  and  with  renewed 
strength  and  new  resolves  she  steadily  pursued  the 
better  way.  But  alas,  how  indelible  is  the  stain  that 
once  tarnishes  the  female  character,  and  how  unfor- 
giving we  all  are  toward  our  erring  sisters.  The 
bitterest  pangs  seized  her  when  the  church  of  which 
she  had  once  been  a  cherished  member  refused  to 
restore  her  to  fellowship  ;  and  she  seemed  to  feel  that 
recovery  of  position  was  then  impossible.  Yet  she 
bore  her  corroding  fate  with  marked  fortitude. 

And  so  she  lived  for  years  ;  so  she  lived  till  gray 
hairs  began  to  gather  among  those  glossy  locks  that 
had  been  her  pride  in  the  days  of  innocence,  of  youth- 
u  31 


482  VI.      ASSORTED   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ful  sunshine  and  love  ;  so  she  lived  till  haggard  penury 
had  conducted  her  down  to  the  most  humble  condi- 
tion, where  she  remained  the  victim  of  scorn  and 
senseless  fear.  One  might  have  supposed  that  in  her 
poverty  and  obscurity  she  would  have  been  permitted 
to  pass  quietly  away.  But  malice  soon  found  means 
to  reach  her  in  her  loneliness.  A  foul  charge  was 
brought  against  her,  which  was  too  eagerly  listened 
to  by  the  magistrates  ;  and  she  was  condemned  to 
an  ignominious  punishment ;  condemned  to  sit  upon 
the  gallows,  with  a  rope  about  her  neck,  for  two  hours, 
upon  a  lecture  day,  and  ever  after,  to  the  end  of  her 
life,  to  wear,  emblazoned  conspicuously  upon  her  outer 
garment,  the  terribly  significant  letter  A  in  flaming 
scarlet. 

The  fatal  day  arrived  on  which  she  was  to  be  con- 
ducted, by  the  common  hangman,  to  her  seat  upon 
the  gallows,  and  begin  her  endless  punishment  — 
endless  so  far  as  her  fellow-mortals  could  render  it  so. 
But  — 

When  the  ready  minister  of  justice  appeared  at  her 
humble  abode,  his  summons  was  unheeded,  for  she 
had  already  departed,  departed  at  the  summons  of  one 

more  powerful  and  less  dreaded She  was 

dead. 

The  grave  jury  declared  it  to  be  a  case  of  suicide. 
And  she  was  denied  Christian  burial.  Some,  how- 
ever, insisted  that  the  poor  woman  died  of  a  broken 
heart. 

But  the  suicidal  mark  was  placed  upon  her  grave, 
and  the  dreaded  spot  was  avoided  by  all  save  the 
gaunt  and  howling  dog. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


CLOSING   SCENES. 

IT  has  been  before  remarked  that  Rev.  Mr.  Eliot, 
of  the  Roxbury  church,  took  great  interest  in  the 
attractive  little  Indian  girl  Sunny  Wave.  And  she 
with  avidity  availed  herself  of  the  good  instructions 
he  took  so  much  delight  in  imparting.  She  was  soon 
able  to  read  in  the  English  Bible ;  and  her  progress 
in  all  the  rudimental  studies  gave  him  the  highest 
satisfaction.  But  it  was  painfully  inexplicable  to  him 
why  she  remained  so  entirely  impervious  to  his  doc- 
trinal teachings.  Her  veneration  for  the  Great  Spirit 
and  expectation  of  meeting  her  departed  mother,  in 
his  blessed  land,  rendered  the  thought  of  death  any 
thing  but  gloomy  to  her.  And  a  few  simple  and 
natural  propositions,  enforcing  virtuous  conduct  and 
kindly  acts,  seemed  as  much  as  she  could  find  a  place 
for  in  her  heart-written  creed.  On  listening  to  the 
scripture  narrations  concerning  the  noble  women  of 
old,  she  would  often  shed  tears  and  beg  that  she 
might  be  "  good  like  um  only  Indian  all  the  same ; " 
appearing  always  to  feel  that  the  religion  of  the  red 
men  was  better  fitted  to  their  condition,  than  any 
thing  offered  in  the  more  occult  system  of  the  whites. 
(483) 


484  VII.       CLOSING    SCENES. 

The  following  letter  which  was  written  by  her  to 
Mr.  Eliot  indicates  the  progress  she  had  made  under 
his  faithful  teaching.  All  the  change  we  found  it 
necessary  to  make  was  here  and  there  to  improve  the 
orthography,  lest  her  words  should  be  mistaken,  and 
modernize  a  word  or  two  : 

"  I,  Sunny  Wave,  get  good  letter  you  send  by  fadher 
and  much  thank  you.  I  know  you  wish  me  much 
happy.  And  you  say  hope  I  soon  be  baptize  and 
love  go  to  white  man  his  meeting,  learn  pray,  and  at 
last  go  to  white  man  his  heaven  home.  But  I  feel 
much  tired  in  head,  thinking  and  thinking.  I  do  not 
want  go  different  from  way  you  talk  me  to  go,  you 
so  kind.  But  I  love  Injan  religion  best,  and  try  vera 
hard  to  be  such  good  little  squaw  as  Great  Spirit  will 
love,  and  take  to  his  beautiful  land,  where  my  modher 
gone,  many  moons. 

"  I  see  old  Natick  Squaw,  yesterday  night.  Watch 
in  her  lodge  till  morning.  She  vera  sick,  and  say 
she  die  soon,  and  want  Mr.  Eliot  to  come  give  her 
baptize  before  she  die.  Do  come  ;  come  quick  ;  she 
want  comfort.  Her  boy  brave,  first  say,  No,  no  Sun- 
ny Wave,  tell  Mr.  Eliot  I  no  let  him  come ;  if  he 
come  I  shoot ;  all  white  man  want  is  cheat  Injan. 
Then  I  say,  Yes,  yes,  Mr.  Eliot  shall  come  ;  he  never 
cheat  Injan  ;  he  good  ;  you  shoot  him,  my  fadher 
shoot  you  ;  kill  you.  Then  he  say,  Well,  well,  he 
may  come ;  I  let  him  come,  you  say  he  good  man. 

"  You  ask  me  some  time,  what  words  Injan  speak 
when  he  want  to  say  get  down  on  knees  to  um  ;  you 
want  put  it  in  good  book  for  Injan  to  read.  I  talk  with 


CLOSING    SCENES.  485 

fadher  and  other  old  men  Injans  that  make  speech  ; 
they  all  say  wutteppesittukqussunnoovvehtunkquoh  is 
right  Injan  word  for  white  mans  words  getting  down 
on  knees  to  um.  May  be  you  say,  it  long  word,  take 
away  um  breath  ;  but  Injan  make  um  tongue  jump, 
when  he  speak. 

"  I  do  all  can  to  find  lost  white  girl.  I  love  her-; 
cry  much  ;  walk  many  days  with  fadher,  in  search  ; 
often  hungry  and  much  tired  ;  go  almost  to  Plymouth  ; 
meet  old  Narragansett  chief;  he  say  he  hear  some- 
thing about  white  girl  carried  off  north.  Fadher  and 
I  go  that  way  in  morning  to  try  hear  more.  Out  in 
cold  rain  ;  get  much  wet,  and  fadher  made  sick  ;  vera 
bad  ;  I  watch  him,  give  medicine  and  try  make  him 
well.  He  better  now. 

"  O,  Mr.  Eliot,  Sunny  Wave  know  she  not  live 
many  moons  more.  She  die  soon.  When  she  walk 
in  woods,  she  hear  birds  say  it ;  hear  trees  whisper 
it.  They  say,  Sunny  Wave,  come,  come  to  shiny 
land.  I  sit  by  lodge  door,  in  night ;  bright  stars 
look  down  and  say,  We  shine,  too,  over  beautiful  land 
of  Great  Spirit ;  there  your  modher  waits  and  beckons 
you.  Your  pretty  bird  that  cruel  white  man  shoot, 
and  laugh  when  you  cry,  is  there,  too,  and  will  come 
to  your  hand  again  ;  there  he  sing  in  green  tree,  and 
hop  among  the  flowers  on  river  bank.  And  they  all 
say,  Come,  come.  I  know  I  go  soon.  May  be  white 
men  and  Injans  go  to  same  home.  And  may  be  I 
see  Mr.  Eliot  there.  I  run  to  meet  him.  He  good, 
and  will  not  say,  like  other  white  men,  How  come 
you  here,  you  salvage  devil  child  ;  you  go  off,  go  off, 
you  tawny  heathen. 


486  VII.       CLOSING    SCENES. 

"  Fadher  say  he  come  see  you  in  few  days  and 
bring  deer  meat  and  duck.  And  I  send  Injan  cake 
and  chesnuts. 

"  I  love  Mr.  Eliot.     Good  bye. 

"  I,  Little  Squaw, 

SUNNY   WAVE." 

But  Mr.  Eliot,  with  true  Christian  heroism,  allowed 
nothing  to  discourage  him  in  his  efforts  to  bring  her 
to  a  due  acceptance  of  doctrinal  requirements,  that 
she  might  be  sealed  at  the  baptismal  font.  Her 
docility  and  virtuous  inclinations  ever  kept  his  hopes 
alive.  She  in  various  ways  assisted  him  in  his  apos- 
tolic labors,  besides  inducing  her  father  to  use  all  his 
power  to  prevent  molestations  from  the  disaffected 
tribes  and  vindictive  individuals.  And  as  long  as  she 
lived,  she  afforded  him  every  assistance  in  her  power 
to  master  the  formidable  words  that  so  constantly  pre- 
sented themselves  to  dispute  his  progress,  during  the 
long  years  he  so  diligently  occupied  in  the  perplexing 
study  of  the  Indian  languages.  An  example  of  her 
efforts  appears  in  her  letter  just  quoted.  His  anxiety 
to  acquire  the  native  languages  has  become  a  matter 
of  history,  for  it  was  a  great  object  of  his  life  to  furnish 
the  red  men  with  the  scriptures  in  their  own  tongue. 

Arrow  John,  the  sturdy  father,  also  seemed  anxious 
to  assist  Mr.  Eliot  in  his  arduous  labors  for  the  con- 
version of  the  Indians  ;  or  to  "make  um  good,"  as  he 
expressed  it ;  though  his  frequent  profane  declaration 
that  it  was  "  dam  hard  work,"  indicated  that  he  did 
not  exactly  understand  the  character  of  the  work  he 
believed  himself  assisting  in.  He  enjoyed  exceed- 


CLOSING   SCENES.  487 

ingly  the  Old  Testament  narratives,  particularly  those 
of  wonderful  warlike  achievements,  and  would  beg 
Mr.  Eliot  to  relate  them  over  and  over  again.  Finally 
he  ventured  the  opinion  that  the  Bible  could  be  made 
still  more  valuable  by  introducing  accounts  of  some 
of  the  great  occurrences  in  the  time  of  his  grandfather ; 
which  accounts  he  very  kindly  offered  to  furnish. 
Mr.  Eliot  could  not  repress  his  surprise  and  indigna- 
tion at  the  suggestion,  and  sharply  rebuked  the  unso- 
phisticated chief;  admonishing  him  to  give  no  further 
credence  to  such  abominable  tales  as  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  amuse  himself  and  others  with,  about  what 
happened  in  that  mythical  grandfather's  time.  The 
rebuke  was  received  in  good  part,  but  still  the  dusky 
traditioner  remained  unsatisfied,  and  when  a  good 
opportunity  offered  signified  his  conviction  that  some 
of  the  wonderful  events  recorded  in  the  holy  book 
must  have  taken  place  in  the  time  of  the  white  man's 
grandfather. 

We  have  before  spoken  of  Sunny  Wave's  hours 
of  contemplative  retirement  and  of  her  rather  romantic 
inclinations  even  for  an  Indian  girl.  She  certainly 
did,  by  all  accounts,  at  a  remarkably  early  age  give 
evidence  of  singularly  quick  and  refined  sensibilities. 
Like  a  true  child  of  nature  she  loved  to  worship  in 
the  great  temple  whose  walls  are  the  everlasting 
rocks,  and  whose  pillars  are  the  gnarled  oaks  of  past 
centuries.  But  those  temples  had  not  then  been 
invaded  by  the  desecrating  tramp  of  trade ;  those 
venerable  walls  had  not  been  made  hideous  by  the 
irreverent  hand  of  advertising  art.  "  Buy  your  Jack- 
ets at  Blue  Bottle  Fly's  ; "  — "  Cheatum's  is  the 


488  VII.       CLOSING    SCENES. 

place  for  Bargains;"  —  "Stomach  Bitters  at  Hang- 
neck's  ; "  —  "  Get  your  Chain  Lightning  at  Thunder- 
clap's ; " —  and  the  many  other  legends  and  devices 
of  similar  import  did  not  then  disfigure  the  grand  old 
mossy  walls.  A  year  or  two  ago  the  General  Court 
was  appealed  to  to  raise  the  strong  arm  of  the 
criminal  law  against  such  sacrilege.  And  the  appeal 
had  some  effect.  We  can  have  laws  enough  to  pro- 
tect any  paltry  structure  reared  by  the  hand  of  man. 
But  God's  great  temple  may  be  battered  and  scrawled 
over  with  impunity.  It  would  hardly  be  matter  of 
wonder  if  the  very  lightnings  should  take  the  matter 
in  hand  and  descend  in  retributive  fury  upon  the 
heads  of  the  profane  scribblers. 

In  the  journal  of  Mr.  Pinion  we  find  the  following 
record  of  a  vote  passed  by  the  General  Court  at  a 
time  when  considerable  excitement  prevailed  concern- 
ing Indian  hostilities : 

"  Ye  Genrall  Corte  on  last  4th  day  passd  this  Voate : 
lust  suspitiori  being  made  to  appeare  to  ye  Corte 
yl  Mr  Morton  his  warde  Christine  Seaton  hath  binn 
stollen  into  captivity e  by  ye  Indjan  salvages :  soe 
now  if  anie  shal  restore  ye  maide,  or  certifye  where 
shee  may  be  founde,  they  shall  haue  for  their  paines 
c/.  and  may  hearaff  bee  calld  Mr  if  he  bee  not 
now  soe  entituled,  and  bee  a  male  aboue  ye  age  of  2 1 
yeares." 

This  is  another  of  those  votes  recorded  in  Mr. 
Pinion's  journal,  but  not  found  on  the  regular  Court 
records.  It  relates  to  a  class  of  occurrences  by  no 
means  uncommon  in  those  days  ;  not,  however,  so 


CLOSING   SCENES.  489 

frequent  in  this  immediate  vicinity  as  in  places  along 
the  frontier. 

The  latter  clause  of  the  vote  shows  that  a  singular 
value  was  placed  on  titular  distinctions,  and  that 
"  Mr "  was  a  title  worthy  of  being  striven  for.  But 
whether  that  or  the  hundred  pounds  was  considered  the 
greater  prize,  in  the  present  case,  is  not  easily  deter- 
mined, seeing  that  then  as  well  as  now,  some  esteemed 
money  above  honor  or  fame,  while  with  others  the 
craving  was  reversed. 

There  was  an  active  feeling  of  hostility  existing  on 
the  part  of  the  Indians  towards  the  whites  at  this 
time,  which  grew  out  of  a  long  series  of  real  or 
supposed  wrongs  and  aggressions.  And  presently, 
though  war  was  not  in  form  progressing,  murders 
were  committed  and  captives  taken.  It  was  a  season 
of  terror  not  only  among  the  interior  settlements,  but 
along  the  seaboard. 

The  incident  under  consideration  probably  created 
as  great  a  sensation  as  any  thing  of  the  kind  that  had 
occurred  from  the  time  the  white  man  first  set  foot 
upon  the  soil  of  Boston. 

Mr.  Morton  has  been  before  introduced  to  the 
reader ;  and  so  has  his  fascinating  ward,  Christine 
Seaton.  He  was  a  respectable  citizen  of  Boston,  and 
his  dwelling  place,  at  the  time  of  Christine's  disap- 
pearance, was  a  little  north  of  Beacon  hill,  well  toward 
the  water.  There  was  a  garden  in  front  of  the  house, 
and  in  the  rear  a  grove  of  native  trees,  extending  to 
the  water's  edge.  Christine  was  accustomed  to  ram- 
ble at  will  in  this  strip  of  woods,  as  perhaps  it  should 
be  called,  rather  than  grove ;  and  on  the  afternoon 
u* 


49°  VII.      CLOSING   SCENES. 

of  her  mysterious  disappearance  was  known  to  have 
been  there  for  some  hours.  Her  absence  created  no 
alarm  till  about  sunset.  And  when  search  was  made 
a  wreath  of  evergreen  was  found  which  she  had  evi- 
dently twined  while  sitting  in  the  shade,  on  a  rock 
that  overlooked  the  water.  A  bunch  of  wild  flowers 
was  also  found  near  the  wreath. 

Immediately  on  being  missed  all  means  that  could 
be  thought  of  were  resorted  to  for  her  recovery.  But 
no  trace  could  be  found.  It  would  be  useless  to 
attempt  to  depict  the  extreme  agony  of  her  doting 
guardian.  All  that  the  most  cordial  sympathy  of 
friends,  joined  with  the  kind  ministrations  of  spiritual 
advisers,  could  effect,  scarcely  for  a  moment  relieved 
the  intensity  of  his  grief.  A  general  alarm,  too,  began 
to  prevail,  for  none  could  say  who  next  might  disap- 
pear, what  home  might  next  be  rendered  desolate,  by 
the  same  mysterious  means.  In  a  very  short  time  it 
came  to  be  the  prevailing  opinion  that  she  had  been 
kidnapped  by  some  prowling  Indian  who  had  perhaps 
come  down  the  river  in  his  skiff  under  pretense  of 
fishing  or  pursuing  some  small  traffic.  The  whole 
community  became  agitated,  for  Christine  was  recog- 
nized every  where  as  one  of  superior  beauty  and 
accomplishments ;  there  being  also  a  surmise  that 
she  belonged  to  a  family  of  no  ordinary  rank.  The 
ministers  preached  luminous  discourses  on  the  event, 
and  earnest  prayers  were  offered  in  many  a  godly 
household.  The  Court,  as  has  appeared,  offered  a 
liberal  reward  ;  strolling  Indians  were  brought  in  and 
sharply  interrogated  ;  but  it  seemed  as  if  the  mystery 
was  never  to  be  unravelled.  Sunny  Wave  had  all 


CLOSING    SCENES.  49! 

her  sympathies  touched,  for  she  ardently  loved  Chris- 
tine. Together  they  had  enjoyed  many  a  woodland 
ramble,  and  joined  hands  in  many  a  youthful  frolic. 
It  was  almost  wonderful  how  captivated  they  were  by 
each  other,  considering  the  vast  difference  in  their 
birth,  habits,  and  training.  But  after  all,  mankind 
are  essentially  the  same,  the  world  over ;  and  the 
young,  above  all  others,  seem  instinctively  to  discover 
in  those  about  them  the  traits  they  love,  even  though 
a  thick  veil  of  conventionalism  intervenes.  The  "  lost 
white  girl "  spoken  of  in  Sunny  Wave's  letter  to  Mr. 
Eliot,  was  probably  her  beloved  Christine. 

Long  days  passed,  and  Time  the  great  physician 
for  heart-wounds,  began  his  soothing  office.  The 
grief  of  Mr.  Morton  was  so  far  subdued  that  he  again 
appeared  in  the  sanctuary  and  renewed  his  attention 
to  his  ordinary  avocations,  the  light  of  hope  never 
dying  out  within  him.  Some  ungracious  neighbors 
hinted  that  there  was  selfishness  in  his  grief;  that  the 
safety  of  his  ward,  who  they  believed  was  a  scion 
of  nobility  placed  in  his  charge  for  some  temporary 
family  purpose,  would  be  required  at  his  hand,  under 
penalty  of  utter  ruin. 

So  time  passed  on  till  the  early  winter  days. 

In  the  gray  of  a  gloomy  morning,  when  the  tide 
and  winds  created  a  swift-rolling  and  chopping  sea, 
the  alarmed  patrol  whose  beat  was  along  the  river 
bank,  observed  a  canoe  boldly  push  from  the  opposite 
shore.  As  it  neared  the  channel,  he  perceived  that 
it  was  paddled  by  an  Indian.  And  that  was  quite 
enough  to  fire  his  patriotic  breast.  Without  a  chal- 
lenge, a  shout,  or  a  moment's  reflection,  his  musket 


492  VI1-       CLOSING   SCENES. 

was  at  his  shoulder.  A  little  puff  of  blue  smoke  from 
the  muzzle,  a  startling  crack,  and  away  sped  the 
bullet  on  its  fatal  errand.  It  was  a  singularly  accu- 
rate aim  for  him,  and  the  dusky  form  staggered  and 
fell.  It  then  appeared  that  there  was  another  in  the 
canoe ;  and  from  that  other  arose  the  most  piercing 
cries,  ringing  almost  supernaturally  in  the  air.  The 
canoe,  left  to  itself,  began  to  toss  and  whirl  about  as 
if  determined  to  relieve  itself  of  its  burden  ;  and  anon 
it  would  shoot  down  the  current,  as  if  ambitious  to 
reach  the  great  ocean  and  exhibit  its  prowess  there. 
The  danger  was  extreme  ;  and  it  was  evident  the 
dying  navigator  perceived  it ;  for  the  dusky  form 
arose  and  stood  tottering,  but  with  firm  hand  wielding 
the  paddle  till  the  boat  was  restored  to  its  proper 
course  toward  the  shore,  and  had  received  an  impetus 
that  placed  it  beyond  danger.  Then,  as  if  this  were 
an  exhausting  effort,  the  form  sank  heavily  down. 
By  this  time,  a  number  of  men,  alarmed  by  the  firing 
of  the  patrol,  had  collected  on  the  shore. 

When  the  boat  touched  the  land  the  paddle  had 
fallen  from  the  quivering  hand  that  had  so  courage- 
ously wielded  it  —  the  faithful  hand  of  SUNNY  WAVE. 

Her  companion  in  the  boat  was  the  long  lost  Chris- 
tine Seaton. 

The  wound  inflicted  by  the  thoughtless  patrol  was 
mortal,  and  over  the  lustrous  eyes  of  the  dusky  maid 
the  film  of  death  was  fast  gathering.  Christine  was 
transported  with  horror ;  and,  heedless  of  her  own 
deliverance,  indiscriminately  reproached  those  about 
her  in  passionate  terms.  With  almost  superhuman 
energy  she  raised  her  dying  companion  to  her  feet, 


CLOSING    SCENES.  493 

and  frantically  endeavored,  with  her  own  breath  to 
prolong  the  life  that  was  so  fast  ebbing.  From  these 
vain  efforts  she  sank  exhausted  upon  the  cold  ground. 
But  unhappy  consciousness  soon  returned,  and  taking 
the  dying  head  upon  her  lap,  she  gazed  intently 
upon  the  upturned  face,  bestowing  at  intervals  the 
most  ardent  kisses.  The  worthy  old  Scotchman,  her 
guardian,  who  had  been  hurriedly  summoned  now 
appeared,  rejoicing  with  exceeding  joy  that  his  lost 
jewel  was  found.  But  he  could  not  for  a  moment 
draw  her  attention  from  the  sacred  occupation  to 
which  all  her  powers  were  then  devoted. 

Presently  the  eyes  of  the  dying  Sunny  Wave  opened, 
beaming  with  extraordinary  brightness.  And  in  full 
consciousness  she  spoke  to  her  agonized  companion  : 

"  O,  Christie,  Christie,"  she  faintly  said,  "  you  now 
safe.  I  get  you  home  at  last,  through  all  that  hurt 
and  make  us  fraid.  Cruel  white  man  shoot  ;  hit  right 
in  breast ;  I  bleed  much  and  grow  weak  ;  then  think 
may  be,  after  all,  the  cold  waves  swallow  you  up ;  but 
the  Great  Spirit  help  me,  give  me  strength,  and  I 
drive  canoe  to  shore.  O,  I  vera  glad  ball  hit  me,  not 
you.  It  most  over  now  ;  I  die  and  go  home  to  Great 
Spirit,  to  sunny  land  where  my  modher  calls.  My 
fadher  too  come  in  few  moons.  He  be  much  sorry 
when  he  know  I  die  so.  O,  I  grow  weak  now  ;  blood 
almost  run  out.  Hope  you,  too,  Christie,  come  some- 
time to  bright  land,  and  I  see  you  there.  Tell  Mr. 
Eliot  Sunny  Wave  say,  when  she  dying,  she  love  him 
much  ;  hope  she  see  him,  too,  in  good  land,  some- 
time ;  she  run  to  meet  him  when  he  come.  Tell 
fadher  he  no  kill  white  man  cause  he  shoot  me.  O, 


494  Vn-       CLOSING    SCENES. 

cover  me  up,  cover  me  up,  now ;  wind  comes  cold 
over  the  dark  water.  Clouds  come  up  and  it  grows 
night,  night  all  about." 

Then  she  began  to  shiver.  Her  eyes  closed,  and 
there  was  a  gurgling  in  her  throat.  But  suddenly 
her  eyes  again  opened,  the  gurgling  ceased,  and  in 
her  low,  almost  supernaturally  musical  tones,  she 
added : 

"  O,  now,  now  I  see  away  over  the  cold  river,  and 
the  hills  and  dark  woods,  into  the  sunny  land  ;  the 
black  clouds  all  roll  away,  and  open  the  beautiful  sky 
of  summer  morning.  O,  Christie,  I  wish  you  there 
with  me,  today.  And  now  I  feel,  too,  warm  wind  that 
sweep  over  sweet-smelling  trees  and  flowers.  But  I 
go  alone,  .  .  .  alone —  .  .  .  No,  no,  there 
stand  my  modher  by  the  brook ;  she  see  me  now ; 
she  beckon.  O,  I  coming,  .  .  .  coming  — "  .  .  . 

These  were  the  last  words  uttered  by  that  guileless 
tongue.  One  gasp,  and  the  gentle  spirit  had  departed. 
Not  all  the  caresses,  tears,  and  wails  of  the  heart- 
broken Christine,  nor  the  hysterical  antics  of  the 
women  gathered  about,  could  elicit  another  sign  of 
life.  And  there  she  lay  in  her  blood-stained  gar- 
ments, till  by  stalwart  arms  she  was  conveyed  to  the 
habitation  of  Mr.  Morton.  The  almost  unconscious 
Christine  —  totally  unmindful  of  the  gory  marks  left 
upon  her  person  and  her  raiment  by  the  gushing 
blood  of  her  friend  —  was  led  along  by  her  bewildered 
guardian  in  utter  silence. 

The  reader  has  probably  anticipated  the  substance 
of  most  that  it  seems  proper  to  add  in  this  particular 
connection.  It  appears  that  according  to  the  almost 


CLOSING   SCENES.  495 

instinctive  fears  of  her  friends,  Christine  had  really 
been  seized  and  carried  captive  to  a  distant  Indian 
settlement  —  that  Arrow  John  and  Sunny  Wave, 
having  been  apprized  of  the  mysterious  disappearance, 
had  made  the  most  energetic  efforts  to  discover  her ; 
and  having  succeeded,  they  next  bestirred  themselves 
for  her  deliverance  ;  and  this,  too,  they  effected,  partly 
by  strategy  and  partly  by  negotiation.  The  perfect 
confidence  she  had  in  them  and  her  ready  compliance 
with  every  direction  of  theirs,  aided  much  in  the 
accomplishment  of  their  plans. 

Christine,  after  her  rescue,  was  kindly  entertained 
at  the  lodge  of  her  friends  till  she  was  in  a  condition 
to  bear  the  fatigues  of  her  long  tramp  to  Boston  ; 
and  then  she  set  forth,  under  convoy  of  Sunny  Wave. 
Their  journey  through  the  forest  was  very  rapid 
and  direct,  for  the  Indian  girl  knew  every  step  of  the 
way,  and  the  anxiety  of  both  to  avoid  the  dangers 
that  might  interpose  prevented  any  disposition  to 
loiter.  Arrow  John  himself  escorted  them  through 
the  more  hostile  districts  they  had  to  pass. 

It  has  been  seen  how  they  appeared  on  that  gloomy 
morning  at  Ihe  river,  and  boldly  pushed  out  upon  the 
angry  waters,  purposing  to  effect  a  landing  on  the 
Boston  side,  near  the  grounds  of  Mr.  Morton.  And 
it  has  been  seen,  too,  what  reward  the  faithful  Indian 
maid  received  on  the  safe  delivery  of  her  charge. 

As  soon  as  the  harrowing  news  of  the  death  of  his 
beloved  daughter  could  possibly  be  communicated  to 
the  bereaved  chief,  it  was  done,  and  he  forthwith 
repaired  to  Boston,  arriving,  weary  and  foot-sore,  on 
the  evening  preceding  the  day  set  for  the  burial.  He 


49^  VII.       CLOSING    SCENES. 

came  into  town  vigorously  smoking  his  pipe,  and 
proceeded  directly  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Morton,  where 
he  was  received  in  the  most  considerate  manner. 
Food,  the  most  dainty  that  the  house  afforded,  was 
set  before  him,  but  he  tasted  nothing,  and  continued, 
almost  incessantly,  to  smoke  his  pipe.  Nothing  that 
they  could  do  seemed  sufficient  to  rouse  him  from 
his  mournful  abstraction.  Being  led  into  the  room 
where  his  daughter  now  lay  in  her  coffin,  wrapped  in 
the  drapery  of  death,  he  stood  gazing  upon  her  in 
utter  silence  ;  and  received  the  most  affecting  condo- 
lences without  the  slightest  recognition.  Then  he 
bent  over,  and  with  his  own  ringers  opened  the  rigid 
lids  as  if  to  take  one  more  look  upon  the  beautiful 
orbs  that  had  so  long  been  the  light  of  his  now  deso- 
late home. 

Carefully  removing  the  robe  from  the  breast,  he 
gazed  ruefully  upon  the  cruel  wound  that  had  so 
robbed  him  of  his  earthly  treasure.  And  as  he  re- 
placed the  drapery  a  sullen  cloud  gathered  upon  his 
brow,  and  for  a  moment  all  the  sanguinary  impulses 
of  his  nature  seemed  abaze.  His  eyes  flashed,  and 
in  portentous  gutturals  he  exclaimed :  "  White  man 
dam  wicked  !  I  kill  um  all ! "  And  he  turned  fiercely 
about,  as  if  to  begin  at  once  the  execution  of  his 
threat.  But  Christine  rushed  into  the  room,  and 
threw  herself  into  his  arms,  in  a  paroxysm  of  grief, 
declaring  with  fearful  earnestness  that  she  would 
return  with  him  to  his  lodge  and  be  his  daughter, 
doing  every  thing  for  him  as  Sunny  Wave  had  done, 
and  loving  him  as  she  had  loved.  Her  despair  en- 
tirely disarmed  him  of  wrath.  In  a  moment  he  cast 


CLOSING    SCENES.  497 

down  upon  her  a  glance  full  of  compassion.  Placing 
his  hand  gently  upon  her  head,  he  said,  with  a  choked 
utterance :  "  No  ki,  no  ki,  little  ooman.  We  all  go. 
First  her  modher  go  ;  next  she  go  ;  then  I  go.  The 
Great  Spirit  want  us  all.  He  have  room  enough  for 
all  his  children.  No  ki,  no  ki." 

The  funeral  of  Sunny  Wave  was  attended  by  a 
great  concourse  of  people,  for  she  was  well  known  in 
Boston  and  throughout  all  the  adjacent  settlements, 
as  a  sweet-tempered,  heroic  daughter  of  the  forest, 
merry  and  affectionate.  Mr.  Eliot  was  present,  and 
though  it  was  not  the  custom  of  the  puritan  settlers, 
at  that  period,  to  offer  prayers  at  funerals,  could  not 
forego  the  opportunity  to  recall,  in  affecting  words, 
some  of  the  many  generous  acts  of  the  deceased,  and 
to  depict,  in  warm  colors,  her  many  virtues.  Nor 
could  he  avoid  expressing  the  earnest  hope,  that  hope 
which  is  the  handmaid  of  belief,  that,  barbarian  though 
she  remained,  in  outward  character,  and  impervious 
as  her  young  heart  ever  proved  to  his  metaphysical 
instructions,  she  yet,  by  her  inward  purity  and  loving 
sympathies,  had  received  the  reward  of  the  just. 
Then,  as  he  leaned  over  the  coffin  and  took  a  last 
look  at  the  remains  —  at  the  calm  dusky  brow  over 
which  rested  a  single  white  plume,  at  the  closed  lips 
from  which  had  so  often  issued  the  merry  outpourings 
and  affectionate  greetings  of  that  joyous  young  heart, 
now  pulseless  and  cold,  his  manly  tears  could  not  be 
restrained. 

Arrow  John  made  no  objection  to  any  of  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  burial  of  his  daughter.  And  when 
Mr.  Eliot,  Mr.  Morton,  the  Governor,  and  other  dig- 

32 


498  VII.      CLOSING   SCENES. 

nitaries  present  offered  their  condolence,  he  stood 
unmoved  as  a  statue. 

A  little  grave  beneath  the  branches  of  an  aged  oak 
which,  according  to  Mr.  Pinion,  must  have  stood  near 
what  is  now  the  junction  of  Winter  and  Washington 
streets,  received  the  cold  remains.  Most  conspicuous 
among  the  mourners  was  the  father  of  the  deceased, 
who  strode  on,  erect,  and  with  eyes  never  diverted  to 
right  or  left,  persistently  smoking  his  pipe,  all  the 
way,  no  one  interfering  with  his  indulgence,  though 
it  was  in  direct  contravention  of  an  order  of  the 
august  General  Court  —  no  one,  for  they  saw  it  was 
rather  a  resort  for  the  relief  of  sorrow,  than  a  vicious 
indulgence.  All  the  members  of  the  Court  then  in 
town,  attended.  There  was  a  multitude  of  men  and 
women  from  all  parts  of  Boston  and  the  neighboring 
settlements,  and  a  great  many  of  the  young  people 
of  both  sexes,  all  in  their  best  apparel.  And  lastly, 
in  the  rear  strode  a  score  of  stalwart  Indians,  such  as 
had  borne  friendly  relations  to  the  whites,  and  had 
no  apprehensions  of  being  seized  and  detained.  But 
there  was  not  one  in  the  whole  concourse  who  mani- 
fested such  heart-touching  grief  as  the  fair  Christine. 

The  remains  were  borne  from  the  house  of  Mr. 
Morton  to  the  place  of  burial,  upon  the  shoulders 
of  three  youthful  Indians,  sons  of  neighboring  chiefs, 
and  three  young  whites,  the  coffin  as  it  rested  on  the 
bier,  being  quite  concealed  by  the  evergreens  that 
were  twined  about  it. 

There  she  was  buried.  And  for  many  years  the 
herbage  which  attempted  to  grow  around  was  tram- 
pled down,  and  a  well-trodden  path  led  directly  from 


CLOSING   SCENES.  499 

the  rude  gateway  to  the  sacred  spot,  for  many  and 
many  a  youth  of  either  sex,  in  their  evening  walks 
turned  their  steps  thither  as  to  some  attractive  shrine. 
And  till  far  down  in  the  last  century,  often  as  a  youth- 
ful group  were  gathered  there,  was  the  touching  legend 
recited,  how  there  sometimes  appeared,  standing  in 
the  soft  moonlight,  a  graceful  little  fawn,  in  its  coat 
of  glossy  brown,  with  a  tuft  of  pearly  white  upon  its 
head,  its  great  lustrous  eyes  looking  sadly  up  to  the 
strange  bird,  that  would  come  and  sit,  hour  after  hour, 
on  a  swaying  branch  above,  and  there  pour  forth 
its  notes  in  that  almost  supernatural  harmony  by 
which  the  dusky  maid  who  slept  beneath  so  loved  to 
modulate  her  voice.  But  Time,  who  with  unspar- 
ing hand  levels  all  things,  long  since  levelled  that 
alluring  little  mound,  and  now  for  many  years  have 
stately  edifices  pressed  with  giant  weight  upon  the 
pulseless  heart.  The  wearying  business  murmur  has 
succeeded  the  rural  sounds  that  broke  the  stillness  ; 
and  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  the  notes  of 
the  strange  bird  have  not  been  heard,  nor  has  the 
beautiful  fawn  been  seen. 

Arrow  John  remained  in  town  a  day  or  two  after 
the  burial  of  Sunny  Wave,  but  his  condition  of  mind 
rendered  him  almost  unapproachable.  It  was  with 
the  utmost  difficulty  that  he  could  be  persuaded  to 
take  sufficient  food ;  but  his  faithful  pipe  was  his 
constant  companion. 

Mr.  Eliot,  whose  society  he  had  previously  so  often 
sought  and  so  highly  enjoyed,  was  unwearied  in  his 
kindly  attentions  ;  and  believing  that  the  unsanctified 
heart  was  now  so  softened  by  affliction  that  a  favor- 


SOO  VII.      CLOSING   SCENES. 

able  opportunity  was  offered  to  press  with  renewed 
vigor  his  efforts  for  its  true  conversion,  took  occasion 
to  earnestly  labor  for  that  great  end.  But  the  une- 
quivocal rebuff  that  at  once  met  his  approaches  in 
that  direction,  convinced  him  that  the  calamitous 
events  had  not  touched  that  dusky  heart  in  the  way 
he  had  fondly  hoped,  but  had  rather  choked  the  little 
tipspringing  of  the  good  seeds  he  had  before  sown. 
The  chief  indeed  seemed  to  lose  all  confidence  in  the 
teachings  and  professions  of  his  white  friends,  and 
grew  moody  and  suspicious. 

He  was  discovered  one  night,  by  a  man  returning 
late  from  his  labor,  secretly  at  work  about  the  grave 
of  his  daughter.  The  next  morning,  by  early  dawn, 
he  had  disappeared.  During  the  day,  it  was  thought 
expedient  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  what  he  had  been 
doing ;  and  it  was  found  that  he  had  dug  a  small 
passage  straight  down  to  the  coffin,  and  upon  that 
had  deposited  the  pretty  Indian  reticule  which  she 
had  almost  always  taken  with  her  when  she  came  to 
Boston,  filled  with  presents  for  her  friends.  In  the 
reticule  he  had  placed  all  of  her  little  store  of  trinkets 
she  most  prized,  including  a  ring  of  considerable 
value,  which  Christine  had  long  before  given  her. 
And  so  he  had  buried  them  all,  with  the  precious 
remains. 

His  departure  was  so  sudden  that  he  did  not  even 
bid  farewell  to  the  grieving  Christine.  And  on  that 
same  morning  the  unfortunate  patrol  whose  indiscre- 
tion had  caused  the  great  sorrow,  was  also  missing, 
and  was  never  after  heard  of  by  his  friends. 

As  the  weeks  passed  on,  Christine  continued  to 


CLOSING    SCENES.  5OI 

deeply  mourn  the  sad  fate  of  Sunny  Wave.  She  took 
little  interest  in  the  pursuits  to  which  she  had  been 
accustomed,  and  continued  so  to  brood  over  her  sor- 
rows as  to  excite  the  lively  concern  of  her  friends  as 
to  the  ultimate  effect  on  her  mind.  She  was  urged 
into  gay  company,  and  surrounded  by  occasions  for 
the  full  exercise  of  her  various  accomplishments. 
But  every  effort  to  restore  her  to  her  wonted  cheer- 
fulness seemed  unavailing. 

She  was  ever  gentle,  and  her  physical  health  was 
not  seriously  impaired,  though  there  was  less  of  the 
fresh  glow  upon  her  beautiful  face,  and  her  step  had 
lost  its  proud  buoyancy.  And  so  she  continued  on, 
for  many  weeks,  in  the  course  of  placid  endurance. 
Spring  came  again,  and  as  she  loved  flowers,  she 
would  return  from  her  rambles  bedecked  with  them 
and  with  wreaths  such  as  Sunny  Wave  taught  her  to 
weave ;  would  sigh  over  them  when  they  faded,  and 
hasten  to  gather  afresh.  She  often  visited  the  grave 
of  her  lost  friend,  and  sometimes  remained  there  in 
the  dim  twilight,  regardless  of  falling  dew  or  gathering 
gloom,  till  led  away  by  some  sympathising  friend. 

It  was  finally  thought  desirable  that  she  should  visit 
a  connection  of  her  guardian  who  lived  in  a  charming 
spot  at  a  considerable  distance  beyond  the  river. 
She  made  her  preparations  with  perfect  willing- 
ness, selecting  for  the  occasion  her  best  apparel  and 
most  prized  trinkets.  Nevertheless,  when  the  hour 
of  departure  arrived,  she  appeared  abstracted  and 
depressed,  and  exhibited  such  eccentricities  as  to 
give  fresh  occasion  for  the  concern  of  those  about 
her.  They  were,  indeed,  quite  startled,  as  she  stepped 


5O2  VII.      CLOSING   SCENES. 

from  the  door-stone,  and  looked  toward  the  distant 
woods,  to  see  her  wave  her  hand  in  a  mysterious  way 
and  utter,  in  an  undertone,  the  ominous  words  :  "  Yes, 
yes,  dear  Sunny  Wave,  I  will  soon  be  there.  I  will 
be  his  daughter  now ;  and  the  Great  Spirit  will  pro- 
tect me,  as  your  spirit  leads  me."  It  was  fondly 
imagined  that  the  new  scenes  in  which  she  would 
engage  and  the  new  associates  with  whom  she  would 
mingle,  might  have  a  favorable  effect;  and  so  the 
disagreeable  apprehensions  were  relieved. 

She  was  received  with  the  most  cordial  hospi- 
tality, every  effort  being  made  to  divert  her  mind 
from  the  distressing  incidents  on  which  it  had  been 
so  long  brooding.  And  at  times  her  renewed  cheer- 
fulness gave  promise  that  the  hopes  of  her  friends 
would  be  realized. 

She  soon  discovered,  not  far  from  the  place  of  her 
abode,  the  secluded  dell  in  which  she  and  Sunny 
Wave  had  passed  the  last  night  of  their  wearisome 
tramp  through  the  wilderness.  There  the  prudent  In- 
dian girl  had  kept  a  silent  watch  while  she,  from  over- 
powering fatigue,  dozed  wearily  beneath  the  protecting 
branches  of  a  lofty  pine.  And  to  this  dell  she  would 
often  retire,  to  pass  hours  in  lonely  musing.  She 
would  again  and  again  scramble  through  the  rough 
pass  by  which  they  had  entered,  as  Night  was  casting 
her  dark  mantle  over  the  dull  landscape  ;  and  anon 
would  sit  by  the  sparkling  little  spring  that  bubbled 
from  beneath  a  lofty  rock  —  the  spring  from  which 
they  had  taken  their  last  draught,  as  they  started  forth 
before  the  first  streak  of  dawn  on  that  fatal  morning, 
light  of  heart  in  the  remembrance  of  dangers  past 


CLOSING   SCENES.  503 

and  expectation  of  immediate  safety  and  repose.  Such 
musings,  however,  did  not  tend  to  strengthen  the 
enlivening  beams  that  seemed  dawning  upon  her 
heart ;  and  her  friends  endeavored  to  lead  her  from 
them  to  the  alleviating  delights  of  social  life. 

The  period  of  her  prolonged  visit  drew  to  a  close. 
The  day  preceding  that  on  which  she  was  to  return 
to  Boston  arrived,  and  the  afternoon  being  balmy  and 
bright,  she  sallied  forth,  in  her  best  attire,  ostensibly 
to  bid  farewell  to  the  few  young  persons  in  the  neigh- 
borhood with  whom  she  had  formed  acquaintance, 
and  to  make  a  last  visit  to  the  scenes  in  which  she 
had  passed  so  many  congenial  hours. 

Night  came  and  she  did  not  return.  The  most 
anxious  search  was  immediately  commenced,  but  she 
could  not  be  found. 

Indeed  she  was  never  found. 

Some  imagined  that  she  had  been  again  kidnapped 
by  prowling  Indians,  and  lamented  that  there  was 
now  no  alert  Sunny  Wave  to  go  upon  the  search. 

Some  months  after,  there  came  to  Boston  an  old 
man  from  a  distant  settlement,  with  some  furs  for 
sale.  At  the  little  tavern  he  heard  related  the  story 
of  the  loss  of  Christine,  and  said  it  reminded  him 
of  an  account  given  by  one  of  his  neighbors  of  an 
occurrence  that  happened  at  about  the  time  fixed  as 
that  of  her  disappearance. 

The  story  told  by  the  neighbor  was  substantially 
this :  He  was  one  day  surveying  in  a  lonely  part 
of  the  forest,  and  his  course  lay  through  a  deep  valley 
heavily-wooded  by  pines  and  hemlocks,  almost  every 
step  being  obstructed  by  the  decaying  trunks  of 


5O4  VII.       CLOSING    SCENES. 

fallen  trees.  Pausing  in  that  damp,  dark  solitude,  to 
adjust  his  instruments,  he  was  startled  almost  out 
of  his  senses  on  beholding,  seated  upon  one  of  the 
spongy  old  trunks,  a  number  of  rods  off,  a  beautiful 
girl,  clad  in  a  rich  dress,  and  swinging  a  jaunty  little 
French  hat  by  the  ribbons.  She  seemed  to  be  musing, 
or  gazing  abstractedly  at  some  distant  object.  The 
sunbeams  were  just  then  pouring  down  through  the 
swaying  branches,  and  fell  in  golden  streams  all  about 
her,  forming  a  picture  of  such  perfect  loveliness  that 
his  bewildered  senses  could  at  first  only  grasp  the 
idea  that  some  celestial  visitant  had  descended  into 
that  wild  solitude.  When  he  had  partially  recovered 
from  his  astonishment,  he  eagerly  strode  toward  her. 
But  her  eye  was  now  upon  him,  and  springing  up 
from  her  rude  seat,  with  a  bound  she  disappeared  in 
the  deep  gloom  of  the  narrow  pass  beyond.  And 
as  she  fled,  he  was  surprised  again,  to  see  a  beautiful 
little  brown  fawn,  start  up,  as  if  it  had  been  watching 
in  the  thicket  by  her  side,  and  amble  off  in  pursuit. 
He  rushed  forward  with  all  possible  speed,  but  was 
unable  to  catch  another  glimpse  of  the  "  angel  of  the 
woods,"  as  he  ever  after  called  the  apparition,  or  her 
watchful  attendant,  the  little  brown  fawn.  Upon  the 
log  where  she  had  been  seated  he  found  a  bunch  of 
flowers  and  a  tastily  woven  evergreen  wreath. 

Whether  this  "  angel  of  the  woods,"  was  the  lost 
Christine,  commencing  her  career  of  insane  wandering, 
perhaps  soon  to  become  the  prey  of  some  evil  beast, 
the  captive  of  some  ruthless  Indian,  or  the  victim 
of  starvation,  it  was  never  known. 


IO29  1893 

LYNN 

HER   COMPLETE   HISTORY. 


In  answer  to  inquiries  concerning  the  History  of  Lynn,  and 
the  other  works  of  Hon.  JAMES  R.  NEWHALL,  the  undersigned 
announce  that 

The  volume  by  ALONZO  LEWIS  and  JAMES  R.  NEWHALL,  con- 
taining a  full  HISTORY  OF  LYNN,  from  the  first  settlement, 
in  1629,  to  the  close  of  1864,  8vo.,  620  pages,  price  $2.25;  and 
the  volume  entitled  "  LIN,  OR  NOTABLE  PEOPLE  AND  NOTABLE 
THINGS  IN  THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  LYNN,  THE  THIRD  PLANTATION 
OF  MASSACHUSETTS  COLONY," — the  same  that  in  earlier  editions  bore 
the  title  of  "LIN,  OR  JEWELS  OF  THE  THIRD  PLANTATION,"  8vo., 
500  pages,  price  $1.50;  are  now  in  print,  and  can  be  promptly 
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The  volume  bringing  the  History  down  from  1864  to  1890 
has  been  out  of  print,  but  a  new  edition  is  now  issued,  and  this 
will  bring  the  History  to  1893.  350  to  400  pages,  8vo.,  price  $1.75. 

The  above  give  the  continuous  History  of  Lynn  in  its  various 
departments,  and  give  the  means  to  all  interested  to  become  acquaint- 
ed with  its  History,  from  1629  to  1893. 


These,  with  two  new  books,  afford  an  excellent  opportunity  to  secure  as 
a  whole  the  complete  works  of  Hon.  JAMES  R.  NEWHALL,  the  Historian  of 
Lynn.  These  books  are  unique  in  their  character,  being  compiled  from 
the  personal  observations  of  the  author,  and  contain  a  connected  History 
of  our  City,  including  its  traditions  and  legends. 

They  are  noteworthy  as  a  reflex  of  the  times  from  the  standpoint  of 
a  long  life,  are  useful  as  ready  reference  and  for  genealogical  and  other  tables 
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ISRAEL  AUGUSTUS  NEWHALL. 
HOWARD  MUDGE  NEWHALL. 


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.-,11:11   111   i  uiuigu    1^.1, .,..,, . 

with  a  selection  of  pieces  from  the  Author's  pen,  that  appeared  in  various 
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These  volumes  give  a  complete  history  of  Lynn,  from  its  first  settle- 
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